Imtiaz Ahmed played cricket in an era when wicketkeepers were not expected to be quality batsmen. In a sense he was way ahead of his times, and along with John Waite, formed the second generation of quality wicketkeeper-batsmen.
That made him indispensable, and Imtiaz featured in the first 39 Tests played by Pakistan, leading them four times. He became a part of every single historic moment of Pakistan cricket in the 1950s. He was also the fourth wicketkeeper to score 2,000 Test runs.
After a great start to his Ranji Trophy career for Northern India, Imtiaz was drafted in for a North Zone side against Australian Services XI. Walking out at 106 for 6, Imtiaz scored 138 not out.
His most famous performance came in 1951-52, when a strong Commonwealth XI toured India. Imtiaz kept wickets, scored 28, and when the hosts were made to follow-on a couple of hours later, he batted for eight hours for an unbeaten 300; and kept wickets again.
He held 7 catches when England won at The Oval. His 64 and 209 helped Pakistan beat New Zealand. When Hanif Mohammad scored his famous 337 at Kensington Oval, Imtiaz scored a brisk 91 to help add 152 for the opening stand. At Sabina Park he got 122 and kept wickets throughout West Indies’ score of 790 for 3, where he conceded 2 byes.
One of the hardest hitters of the cricket ball, Imtiaz’s batting influenced one Majid Khan, who called him the greatest strokeplayer he had seen, putting him at par with Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Wasim Bari, on the other hand, took to wicketkeeping because of Imtiaz.
Imtiaz was honoured with the Pride of Performance Award. He became a renowned coach, and worked as a Pakistan selector for 13 years, heading the panel from 1976 to 1978.
He passed away on the last day of 2016, five days before his 89th birthday. At the time of his death he was the oldest-living Pakistan cricketer.
Abhishek Mukherjee
Career | M | In | R | NO | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
Test | 41 | 144 | 4158 | 2 | 209 | 29.28 | -- | -- | 6 | 22 | 218 | -- | 77 | 16 |
ODIs | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
T20s | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
World Cup | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Career | M | B | R | W | Avg | EC | SR | 5WI | 10WM | BBI | BBM |
Test | 41 | 12 | 0 | 0 | -- | 0.000 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 |
ODIs | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
T20s | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
World Cup | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Test Debut
India v Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, October 16, 1952
Last Test
England v Pakistan at Kennington Oval, Kennington, August 16, 1962
Imtiaz Ahmed was suffering from chest infection and died early Saturday.
Imtiaz Ahmed's five wicket haul helped CAG defend a modest total of 210.
Uttar Pradesh walked away with three points owing to their first innings lead against Madhya Pradesh.
Ankit Rajpoot and Imtiaz Ahmed wrecked havoc with the new ball against Madhya Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh bowlers produced a disciplined effort to register a comfortable innings and 14 runs win against Services in their Group B ...
A determined batting by their middle- order batsmen ensured that Rajasthan walked away with a draw but Uttar Pradesh grabbed three ...
Composing one from the cricketers with Ahmed in their names, CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta finds a reasonably balanced ...
And with a serious shortage of last names starting with this letter of the alphabet, we need to borrow heavily from the Muslim world.
Former Pakistan captain Imtiaz Ahmed's autobiography will be published by August 2017.
Imtiaz Ahmed scored 2,079 runs at 29.28 in addition to 93 dismissals. While keeping wickets his 2,010 runs came at 30.45.
Here is a complete list of all the 300s scored by Indians in First-Class cricket.
Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka - 2nd Test
BAN 277/5 OVERS: 85.0
Zimbabwe vs Namibia - 5th T20I
24 May, 2022 16:30 IST
Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals - Qualifier 1
24 May, 2022 19:30 IST
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - Eliminator
25 May, 2022 19:30 IST | 14:00 GMT
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
T.B.C. vs T.B.C. - Qualifier 2
27 May, 2022 19:30 IST | 14:00 GMT
Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
28 May, 2022 21:00 IST | 15:30 GMT
Choice Moosa Stadium, Pearland
29 May, 2022 20:00 IST | 14:30 GMT
Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
29 May, 2022 21:00 IST | 15:30 GMT
Choice Moosa Stadium, Pearland
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings - Match 70
Punjab Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 5 wickets
Zimbabwe vs Namibia - 4th T20I
Namibia beat Zimbabwe by 6 wickets
Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals - Match 69
Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 5 wickets
Zimbabwe vs Namibia - 3rd T20I
Zimbabwe beat Namibia by 8 wickets
Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings - Match 68
Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets