Iqbal Qasim, born August 6, 1953, is a former Pakistan left-arm spinner who later turned to administration. On his 62nd birthday, Shiamak Unwalla looks at eight interesting things about the man who could have ruled the bowling charts in T20 cricket.
1. Often overlooked
When one thinks of great Pakistani spinners, the names that immediately come to mind are Abdul Qadir, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed Saeed Ajmal and Danish Kaneria. Few would rate the hardworking left-arm spinner Iqbal Qasim among the lot, but he has a better Test record than most left-arm spinners.
2. Bowling machine
Among all Pakistan bowlers with at least 75 Test wickets, only Fazal Mahmood has a better economy rate [2.09] than Qasim’s 2.21. Qasim was known for his accuracy, sometimes sacrificing flight for a nagging, precise line and length.
3. Spinning out Australia
Pakistan hosted Australia for a three-match Test series in 1980. The first Test was played at Karachi, and Greg Chappell elected to bat after winning the toss. He was soon left ruing the decision as Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed took four wickets each to bowl Australia out for 225. Australian left-arm spinner Ray Bright took seven for 87 in response, but Pakistan took the vital lead. However, it was in the second innings that Qasim’s mastery came to the fore. He returned with mind-numbing figures of 42-22-49-7 (an economy rate of just 1.16) as Australia were cleaned out for a mere 140. Bright took three more wickets in the second innings, but Pakistan chased down the 74-run target without any real trouble. Qasim ended the match with 11 wickets — one of only two 10-fors in his career. Pakistan won the series as the next two games were high-scoring draws.
4. Master class at Bangalore
Arguably Qasim’s most important contribution came on a rank turner at Bangalore in 1987. Batting first, Pakistan were bundled out for 116 after Maninder Singh ran though them with seven for 27. Dilip Vengsarkar’s 50 ensured that India took a slender lead. Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed took five wickets each. A much more solid batting performance followed in the second innings. While no Pakistan batsman crossed 47, eight of them got to double figures and five went past 25. With India needing 221 to win, Qasim was asked to open the bowling. He finished with four for 73, including the most vital wicket of the match: Sunil Gavaskar for a phenomenal 96. Gavaskar was the eighth man out in what his final innings in Test cricket, and India finally went down by 16 runs to lose the series. The Test remains a classic in the annals of Indo-Pak cricket history.
5. Bounced by Wills
Pakistan’s tour of England in 1978 was a forgetful one. England thrashed them in the two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) by 132 and 94 runs respectively, and then won the Test series 2-0 to leave Pakistan without an international win on the tour. The first Test saw Pakistan crash to 164 all out batting first. England piled on 452 in response, and with Mudassar Nazar falling late on Day Three, Qasim was sent in as a night-watchman. He batted with a lot of gumption, remaining unbeaten overnight. The next morning, he had been batting for close to 40 minutes when England captain Mike Brearley had Bob Willis bounce him from around the wicket. The ball struck Qasim, and he had to retire hurt with a bloody face. Luckily it was not a severe injury, and he returned to play the next Test. “I’m lucky not to have been seriously injured. I think my teeth have been loosened,” he said after the incident.
However, what is notable about the instance is that it was this injury that resolved the issue of use of helmets in the modern game, and barring very few cricketers — notably Viv Richards and Gavaskar — the helmet became an essential part of the batsman’s kit.
6. Move to administration
Qasim stayed on with the sport even after his playing days. After serving as an interim selector in 1999, he was elected as full-time selector in 2005. Following a bit of a scare after he suffered a heart attack in 2007, he was then appointed chief selector in 2009.
7. A game of thrones
Pakistan and controversy are two of the most steadfast allies in the sport, and rarely has their board functioned without the occasional hiccup. Qasim’s stay as selector was no different; he resigned from his post in 2010. His reason was Pakistan’s humiliating whitewash at the hands of Australia in both the Test and ODI series. “We made this team and it was the best possible team, but their performance has been really poor, unbelievably poor. I had two options after this. One was to stick on, evaluate and analyse the performance or step down. Anyone would do a post-mortem so I thought it my moral responsibility to do this.”
Mohsin Khan was appointed chief selector in his stead, but that did not last very long either. By 2012, Qasim was back to being chief selector. He was finally deposed when Pakistan overhauled their administration in the lead-up to ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
8. What might have been
A look at Qasim’s numbers suggests that had he been born in a later generation, he would have made a fantastic T20 bowler. His economy rate in ODIs was 4.51, and in List A cricket was 3.46; his precision was renowned, and his reputation of being a mentally tough, tenacious spinner only adds to the idea that he would have made a formidable T20 spinner.
(Shiamak Unwalla is a proud Whovian and all-round geek who also dabbles in cricket writing as a reporter with CricketCountry. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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