October 14, 2013. Zulfiqar Babar, a slow left-arm orthodox, donned the Pakistan colours against South Africa at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

He wasn't considered good enough to make it to the team during his much youthful days, so it was a surprise, when, at the ripe age of 34, with 309 first-class wickets in the bucket, ‘Zulfi’ was called to play for his country.

It was odd also because Pakistan has had a tradition of introducing ‘talent’ at a very young age, often while they're still in school or at least supposed to be.

But almost two years since that Test against South Africa, where he finished with match figures of 5/140, Babar has become the workhorse in Misbah-ul-Haq's arsenal. And it is precisely this perception that has masked the fact that the left-arm spinner has often been the architect of Pakistan's wins in the 13 Tests that he has played.

Post-the Saeed Ajmal period, Yasir Shah and Babar have provided Pakistan with a seamless transition into the ‘next era’. Though Yasir emerged onto the scene a year after Babar, on October 22, 2014, against Australia, the legspinner has risen to fame much faster than his partner.

It has obviously helped Yasir that Australian legend Shane Warne has done much of the publicity for the Swabi spinner but with 76 wickets in 12 Tests, he has deserved much of it.

Babar has been Yasir's aide in many of those match-winning performances.

He's been there when Pakistan ran through Australia, drew against New Zealand, and beat Sri Lanka and now England. But in almost all of those wins, it has been either batsmen, Yasir or the seamers who have been celebrated.

Babar has remained a forgotten star, who whenever introduced in a new spell, has disrupted the flow of runs, put pressure from one end so that others could penetrate into the defenses of the opposition and also provided with some decisive breakthroughs.

The determination in each of his LBW appeals, the tireless expression of ‘almost-there’ after bowling over after over, and the contained celebration after beating the batsman are what stick out about Babar.

He just does his job and walks back into the pavilion. Even when he smacked 56 off just 60 balls against Sri Lanka in the first Test of Pakistan's tour this summer, he celebrated like it was his ‘duty’. Arms were raised but there were no wild celebrations.

The 36-year-old left-arm orthodox reached a milestone of 50 Test wickets during the third match against England in Sharjah, but went largely unnoticed. In 13 Tests, Babar has claimed 51 wickets in total with two four-wicket and two five-wicket hauls.

With this feat, Babar also became the oldest bowler from Pakistan to take 50 Test wickets. Previously, the record was held by Saeed Ajmal, who grabbed his first 50 Test wickets at the age of 33.

The simple man from Okara, the first Test cricketer from the town, picked up nine wickets against England but his impact on the series was much greater than any stat could prove. Once again.

Here's a look at Babar's two five-wicket hauls against Australia:

5/74 v Australia, 1st Test, Dubai (Oct 22, 2014)

Australia, set 438 to win, were bowled out for 216 in their second innings with spinner Zulfiqar Babar (5-74) and leg-spinner Yasir Shah (4-50) sharing the bowling honours.

Babar triggered the start of Australia's destruction by forcing David Warner to dance down the wicket and beat the batsman with flight and turn, with Sarfraz Ahmed making a clean stumping from behind.

Seeing his batsmen losing wickets one after another, Australian coach Darren Lehmann had nothing better to say than: “We got beaten with straight balls.”

“This is a very good cricket wicket and we didn't adapt well enough and didn't play well enough,” Lehmann was quoted as saying by cricinfo.com. “When you are talking about learning how to play in these conditions we got beaten on the other side - with less spin.”

Babar picked up 5/74 but there were no ‘poetic’ compositions in his honour as has become the norm on cricket websites.

5/120 v Australia, 2nd Test, Abu Dhabi (Oct 30, 2014)

Pakistan broke their 20-year jinx by claiming a thumping 356-run victory over Australia in the second Test at Abu Dhabi, taking the series 2-0.

Spinners Babar (5-120) and Yasir (3-44) once again shredded Australia. During this match, Australia lost five of their last wickets for just eight runs.

It was Babar who tormented Michael Clarke's men with subtle variations of length and pace and the odds square turner. Chris Rogers was the first to depart, followed by a sharp delivery that left Glen Maxwell in shock for a while.

The most prized wicket for Babar would definitely be that of the Aussie captain Michael Clarke, who was left gasping for air as the ball got past his defenses to take the bails. Babar finished the series with 14 wickets.