Published: Sep 06, 2019, 11:00 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 06, 2019, 11:00 PM (IST)
Former Pakistan legspinner Abdul Qadir, 63, passed away due to cardiac arrest in Lahore on Friday.
“My father never had a heart problem so it was sudden and shocking that he suffered a severe attack and could not survive,” Salman Qadir told AFP.
Qadir, who played 67 Tests for Pakistan, scalped 236 wickets, including 15 five-wicket hauls and five ten-wicket hauls. In his 104 One-day internationals appearances for Pakistan, Qadir got 132 wickets, with a best figures of 5/44.
Qadir made his Test debut in 1977 when Pakistan took on England in Lahore and played his last Test against West Indies in December 1990.
His ODI debut came against New Zealand in 1983 in Birmingham while he played his last ODI against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in 1993.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were “shocked” by Qadir’s demise and offered its condolences to his family and friends.
“PCB is shocked at the news of ‘maestro’ Abdul Qadir’s passing and has offered its deepest condolences to his family and friends,” tweeted PCB.
PCB is shocked at the news of ‘maestro’ Abdul Qadir’s passing and has offered its deepest condolences to his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/NTRT3cX2in
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 6, 2019
Qadir, who would have turned 64 on September 15, was one of favourites of former captain Imran Khan — now Pakistan’s prime minister.
Qadir’s unique dancing action was as attractive as it was destructive, spinning the ball prodigiously and had a lethal googly and a flipper.
Legendary Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne — the second highest Test wicket taker with 708 (only behind Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan’s 800) — was also a big fan of Qadir.
Former Pakistan captains Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Rashid Latif and Waqar Younis led the condolence messages, saying Qadir’s death was “a great loss of Pakistan cricket”.
“We have lost a great man who was an institution in himself,” said Wasim who played alongside Qadir in the 1980s.
(with inputs from AFP)
