Abdul Qadir Khan: the Pakistani spin wizard

Abdul Qadir Khan was born on September 15, 1955. He was a litigious cricketer who took Pakistan cricket to new heights during his tenure. Qadir was known as a wizard in spin-bowling. He was the flag- bearer of leg-spinning in the era when fast bowlers dominated bowling.

His debut

He made his Test debut against England in December 1977. His performance was ordinary, and he scored 11 with the bat and took one wicket. He made an excellent entrance in ODI playing against New Zealand during the 1983 World Cup at Edgbaston. He was also declared the Man of the match for his brilliant performance.

His mentor

Imran khan mentored many youngsters, who later became part of Pakistan cricket, and Abdul Qadir was one. Imran profoundly influenced Qadir, and he (Imran) was also successful in getting the best of Qadir on the field. Qadir seemed to have a particular liking for Englishmen. In 1987, Qadir's ten-wicket haul made Pakistan win a series over England at The Oval. Again his performance was brilliant when England visited Pakistan after three months. He took 30 wickets in three Tests.

Abdul Qadir was such a perfect spin- bowler that he could give six different deliveries per over. He was such a skillful bowler that he could provide a wide range of deliveries.

The time when he was the captain

Qadir could not prove his worth as a captain. He captained the Pakistan cricket team Pakistan for five Test matches. The team lost 4 of them from the 5 Tests. In ODIs, he led his squad against Bangladesh and India in Asia Cup. The group claimed its victory over Bangladesh but lost to India.

Qadir's appetite for fighting is well known. It often came out in his batting as well. He played some of the combative innings. He could manage to take 16 off Courtney's last to win a crunch match against West Indies in the World Cup 1987.

Effect of rising of new cricketers

With the rise of young cricketers, like Mushtaq Ahmed, Qadir started fading away in the early 90s. But, when he didn't get considered to be a part of World Cup 1992, he was a bit disappointed. He earned a surprise call to play in Pepsi Champions Trophy Sharjah in 1993-94. He picked up a wicket against West Indies. Unfortunately, his ankle got twisted during the eighth over against Sri Lanka and said goodbye to international cricket.

After his retirement, he became the commentator. Later, he became the Pakistan Cricket Board's Chief Selector, which didn't prove to be a fruitful one. Qadir resigned from the post in June 2009. He has many honors in his credit. He is rewarded as King of Spin and was honored with Ryder Medal by Australia, Life Membership from MCC (England), and Life Achievement Gold Medal Award from PCB. Presently, he is running Abdul Qadir Cricketer Academy for Boys and Girls.

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