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Abdul Qadir Khan SI (, 15 September 1955 – 6 September 2019) was an international
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er who bowled
leg spin Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called a leg spinner. Leg spinners bowl with their right-arm and a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery is called a leg break, which spins fr ...
for
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
. Abdul Qadir is widely regarded as a legendary leg spinner from the 1970s and 1980s and was a role model for up and coming leg spinners. His unique style of bowling consisted of a rhythmic cantering walk before the ball toss. Qadir was voted the best player in the Group B matches of the
1987 Cricket World Cup The 1987 Cricket World Cup (officially known as the Reliance Cup 1987 for sponsorship reasons) was the fourth Cricket World Cup. It was held from 8 October to 8 November 1987 in India and Pakistan – the first such tournament to be held outsid ...
and won a car which he donated to Imran Khan for his Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre project. Later he was a commentator and Chief Selector of the
Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), formerly known as Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan ...
, from which he resigned in 2009 due to differences of opinion with leading Pakistan cricket administrators. Abdul Qadir appeared in 67
Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
and 104
One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
(ODI) matches between 1977 and 1993, and captained the Pakistan cricket team in five ODIs. In Test cricket, his best performance for a series was 30 wickets for 437 runs, in three Test matches at home, against England in 1987. He achieved Pakistan's best bowling figures in a Test innings, which was nine wickets for 56 against the same team at the Gaddafi Stadium in the same series in 1987. In November 2022, Abdul Qadir was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. In ODIs, his best bowling figures were five wickets for 44 runs against Sri Lanka during the
1983 Cricket World Cup The 1983 Cricket World Cup (officially the Prudential Cup '83) was the third edition of the Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from 9 to 25 June 1983 in England and Wales and was won by India India, officially the Republic o ...
. He was a member of the Pakistani team in the 1983 and
1987 Cricket World Cup The 1987 Cricket World Cup (officially known as the Reliance Cup 1987 for sponsorship reasons) was the fourth Cricket World Cup. It was held from 8 October to 8 November 1987 in India and Pakistan – the first such tournament to be held outsid ...
s. Yahoo! Cricket described Abdul Qadir as "a master of the leg-spin" who "mastered the googlies, the flippers, the leg-breaks and the topspins." He is widely regarded as a top spin bowler of his generation and was included in Richie Benaud's Greatest XI shortlist of an imaginary cricket team from the best players available from all countries and eras. Former English
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Graham Gooch said that Abdul Qadir "was even finer than
Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer whose career ran from 1992 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batter for Victoria, Hampshire ...
". He was educated at the
Government College University, Lahore The Government College University (colloquially known as GCU; Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university i ...
.


First-class career

Abdul Qadir played
first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
for
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
,
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
and Habib Bank Limited cricket teams during 1975–95. During his first-class career, he achieved five or more wickets in an innings on seventy-five occasions, and ten or more wickets in a match twenty-one times. He also scored two centuries and eight half centuries in first-class cricket. Abdul Qadir made his debut for Habib Bank against United Bank Limited at the National Stadium during the 1975–76 season. He took seven wickets in the match conceding 93 runs, including six wickets for 67 runs in the first innings. Playing for Lahore C, he took six for 17 against Bahawalpur, his best bowling figures of the season. Abdul Qadir played 209 first-class matches and took 960 wickets with an
average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
of 23.24. His best bowling figures for an innings were nine
wicket In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is either of the two sets of three Stump (cricket), stumps and two Bail (cricket), bails at each end of the Cricket pitch, pitch. The Fielding (cricket), fielding team's playe ...
s for 56 runs, whereas his best performance for a match was 13 wickets for 101 runs. As a batsman, he scored 3,740 runs, averaging 18.33 from 247 innings. He also scored two centuries and eight fifties. Abdul Qadir's highest score in the format was 112 runs. Qadir played his last first-class match in 1994.


International career


Test career

Natural talent combined with aggression and passion made Abdul Qadir one of the most successful spinners of his era. He had a distinct run-up, bounding in to the crease, and a great variety of deliveries: there was the orthodox leg-break, the topspinner, two googlies and the flipper. He was unique for bowling leg spin at a time when it was not only rare but considered obsolete, and he kept the torch alight for a generation of leg spinners. His fervent appeals made him a great favourite with the spectators but sometimes got him into trouble with umpires. Abdul Qadir played 67 Test matches during 1977–90 and took 236 wickets, with an average of 32.80, including 15
five-wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter. Takin ...
s. His best bowling performance was against England at the Gaddafi Stadium,
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
in 1987. He also scored 1,029 runs including three fifties. Abdul Qadir showed promise from his very first Test series, bowling along with left-arm spinner Iqbal Qasim, with ''Wisden Almanack'' describing him as "the most notable discovery of his type for some time." He made his Test debut against England at his home ground, Gaddafi Stadium, on 14 December 1977. His leg-breaks and googlies both caused problems for the English batsmen, but he was only able to take one wicket and his length began to falter late in the innings, forcing Pakistan to take the new ball and bowl their fast bowlers instead. He was far more successful in the second Test match. He took 6 wickets for 44 runs in 24 overs, bowling around the wicket into the footmarks of English fast bowler Bob Willis, giving him the best bowling figures for a Pakistan bowler against England. After taking five wickets in the third and final Test match, he finished as the leading wicket-taker for the series with 12 wickets at an average of 25.41. Abdul Qadir's second Test series, in England in 1978, was an injury-plagued let-down, but he was a strong and established force by his return in 1982, when his six wickets in the Lord's Test played a major role in a historic Pakistani victory. He took ten wickets in the series with an average of 40.60. Abdul Qadir's first significant performance came in the 1982–83 series against
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, taking seven wickets for 156 runs and 11 wickets for 218 runs in the first two Test matches—man of the match in both the matches. He accumulated 22 wickets—Pakistani record against Australia—conceding 562 runs and with the average of 25.54 in the three-Test series. Due to his performance with the ball, he won the man of the series award for first time in his Test career. Pakistan clean-swept the series, winning the first and the third Test by nine wickets each, and the second Test by an innings and three runs. Qadir took 19 wickets for 451 runs with the help of three five-wicket hauls in following home series against England. Pakistan recorded their first series win against England. In the 1985–86 home series against Sri Lanka, he took six wickets in the third match at Karachi. At the Kennington Oval in 1987, Abdul Qadir's ten-wicket haul ensured another series win, this time in England. Three months later, Abdul Qadir brought his art to an all new level – in the next home series against the same team – taking 30 wickets for 437 runs in three Tests including the best bowling figures in an innings by a Pakistani, nine wickets for 56 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium. This is also the seventh best performance for an innings in Test cricket, and the best by any bowler against England. He achieved his career best performance in an innings, 61 runs, at the National Stadium,
Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
. Abdul Qadir's tremendous performance earned him another man of the series award, and Pakistan won another series against England. During this crusade, he moved past the 200-wicket mark, becoming the first man from his country ever to do so. Abdul Qadir was ineffective against India in the 1989–90 home series, taking only six wickets from four Tests with an average above 57. He played his last Test against the West Indies in December 1990 at the Gaddafi Stadium.


One Day International career

Abdul Qadir made his ODI debut against
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
at Edgbaston during 1983 Cricket World Cup; he took four wickets for 21 runs in 12 overs, earning him the man of the match award. He took 12 wickets for 264 runs in the tournament with an average of 22.00, including a five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka at
Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...
,
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
. In the 1983–84 World Series Cup, Abdul Qadir played eight matches and took 15 wickets at the average of 18.13, including five wickets for 53 against Australia at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...
, a match Pakistan lost by 43 runs. In the 1985–86 home season, he took six wickets against Sri Lanka, and five wickets against the West Indies including four wickets for 17 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium. Abdul Qadir's eight wickets in six matches were the second highest figures against India in 1986–87.
Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who List of India national cricket captains#Men's cricket, captained the Indian national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketer ...
played him smoothly in his first Test series for India, and it may have been his attacking batting, which cut short Abdul Qadir's Test career. Abdul Qadir captained the Pakistan cricket team during England's tour to Pakistan, losing all the three matches; he topped the list of highest wicket takers during the 1987–88 series between the teams, with eight wickets at the average of 13.17. He took six wickets during the 1988–89 Wills Asia Cup at the average of 17.00, including three wickets for 27 runs, against India in the fifth match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium,
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
. During the Nehru Cup in 1989–90, he was second in the list of leading wicket takers, with 12 wicket from seven matches at the average of 21.75. His best figure in a match during the tournament were three wickets for 27 runs, against Australia at the Brabourne Stadium,
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
. Abdul Qadir played his last ODI against Sri Lanka at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium in 1993. In total, Abdul Qadir played 104 ODIs during 1977–93, taking 132 wickets and averaged 26.16. He also took two five-wicket hauls, including his best ODI performance of five wickets for 44 runs against Sri Lanka during the 1983 World Cup. He scored 641 runs in ODIs, and his highest score in this format of the game was 41 not out.


Captaincy

Abdul Qadir was not successful as a captain. He captained the Pakistan cricket team in five Test matches during 1987–88 and 1988–89, losing four of them. He captained Pakistan for the first time against England, in the absence of regular captain,
Javed Miandad Mohammad Javed Miandad PP SI (; born 12 June 1957), popularly known as Javed Miandad (; ), is a Pakistani cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer known for his unconventional style of captaincy and batting. ESPNcricinfo described him ...
. The three matches he captained in, against the same team, were lost by Pakistan. In ODI matches, Abdul Qadir captained Pakistan against
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
and India in the fourth and fifth match of the 1988 Asia Cup respectively; Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 173 runs, and lost to India by four wickets.


As chief selector

Abdul Qadir replaced Saleem Jaffar, former Pakistan fast bowler, as chief selector in November 2008 for the series against India. A series of three Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is was scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan; the series could not take place due to the deterioration of both countries' diplomatic relationship after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. His next assignment was team selection for the home series against Sri Lanka; the tour was arranged as a replacement for the scheduled tour of India which was cancelled by BCCI. The series was abandoned following an attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore during the second Test between the teams. Abdul Qadir resigned from the post in June 2009 without explaining any concern.


Controversy

Talking with Hasan Jalil at Pakistan Television (PTV) show in 2004, Abdul Qadir said: "We all know the ball has always been made up ampered withby Pakistani fast bowlers, but with so much scrutiny on this series, this has not been possible." PTV cancelled his contract stating that "We are a national network and we have certain codes of conduct on what can and cannot be said on air. By talking about ball-tampering and claiming that every successful Pakistani bowler had 'made' the ball, he was damaging national pride, and that is against our policy. So we dropped him."


Personal life

Abdul Qadir was born on 15 September 1955 in
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
,
Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (, ) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the Demographics of Pakistan, most populous province in Pakistan and the List of first-level administrative divisions by popu ...
. His brother, Ali Bahadur, was also a leg-spinner who appeared in 10 first-class matches during 1986–87. Abdul Qadir's three sons Rehman Qadir, Imran Qadir and Sulaman Qadir—also represented different Pakistani teams in the first-class competition, while his younger son, Usman Qadir, has played in 12 List A matches. His daughter, Noor Aamina, married Umar Akmal.


Death and legacy

On 7 September 2019, Abdul Qadir died of cardiac arrest in Lahore. Qadir died nine days before his 64th birthday. The
Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), formerly known as Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan ...
(PCB) paid tributes to Abdul Qadir with their chairman, Ehsan Mani, calling him a "maestro with the ball". Wasim Khan, the PCB's Chief Executive added: "Abdul Qadir was one of the all-time greatest. His friendly and warm presence will forever be missed".
Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer whose career ran from 1992 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batter for Victoria, Hampshire ...
said: "It's very sad news, so condolences to Abdul Qadir's family. I had the opportunity to meet him in 1994 on my first tour to Pakistan. I think a lot of people who bowled leg-spin, like I did, he was the guy who we looked up to in the eighties. He was the main leg-spinner in that era. He was a terrific bowler who bamboozled a lot of batsmen. His record is a terrific one." Prime Minister Imran Khan called him "a genius, one of the greatest leg spinners of all time", adding that "Qadir's bowling statistics do not do justice to his genius". He was posthumously awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz the third highest civilian award of Pakistan by the
Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...
in 2021.


See also

* List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Abdul Qadir * Benaud–Qadir Trophy


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qadir, Abdul 1955 births 2019 deaths Habib Bank Limited cricketers Pakistan One Day International cricketers Pakistan Test cricketers Pakistani cricket captains Cricketers at the 1983 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 1987 Cricket World Cup Punjab (Pakistan) cricketers Pakistani cricketers Cricketers from Lahore Lahore City Blues cricketers Lahore City cricketers Punjab A cricketers Government College University, Lahore alumni Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz