Son of a farmer in Pakistan, Yasir Shah made his debut in first-class cricket at the mere age of 15. He represented his country right from the U15 level till the U21 level and has since then gone from strength to strength. He has also played for the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Abbottabad, Pakistan Customs and the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited.

The leg spinner boasts an impressive record in the domestic circuit and was given a chance to represent Pakistan at the international level in 2011. With 148 wickets in 46 first-class appearances, he was included in the Pakistani squad for their Zimbabwe tour. While the absence of Danish Kaneria hurt Pakistan, Yasir's inclusion was a test of his talent.

Yasir Shah made his Test debut in 2014 against the touring Australian team, replacing Saeed Ajmal who was banned for an illegal bowling action. The leggie picked up 7 wickets in his debut match and went on to claim 12 wickets in the Test series, becoming the second highest wicket-taker which also helped Pakistan to whitewash Australia.

After an impactful debut, Yasir Shah soon became an important member of the Pakistan bowling unit. During the Test series against Sri Lanka in 2015, the leggie became the fastest bowler to take 50 Test wickets for Pakistan. He was picked in the squad for the ICC World Cup 2015 but he got to play just a single match. Thereafter, he prominently featured in white clothes for the Men in Green.

Returning to Tests, in July 2016, he became the number one ranked bowler in the ICC Rankings. The leggie continued to tumble records with his exceptional bowling and went on to become the fastest Pakistan bowler to 100 Test wickets. Yasir tasted another high when he became the second fastest and joint-fastest Pakistan bowler (alongside Waqar Younis) to pick 150 wickets and was also awarded PCB's Test Player of the year in 2017. During the 3-match Test series against New Zealand in 2018, Yasir Shah hunted down 29 wickets and became the fastest bowler to 200 Test wickets.