Former Pakistan captain Saeed Ahmed passes away at 86
Cricket
He played 41 Test matches for Pakistan between 1958 and 1973, scoring 2,991 Test runs
LAHORE (Web Desk) - Saeed Ahmed, the former Pakistan captain and all-rounder, has died here at the age of 86 after a brief illness.
Saeed, who played 41 Tests between 1958 and 1973, captained the side briefly, for three drawn Test matches against England in 1969, replacing Hanif Mohammad. He scored 2,991 Test runs, including five centuries, three of which came against India. A capable offspinner, he also took 22 wickets.
Saeed was born in Jalandhar in 1937 in what was then British India - now a part of Indian Punjab. He made his debut at the age of 20 against the West Indies in the famous drawn Test in Bridgetown, where Hanif Mohammad batted for 970 minutes to score 337 runs. Saeed shared a 154-run partnership with Hanif for the third wicket, scoring 65 as West Indies bowled 319 overs before the game was ultimately called off.
He quickly made a name for his grace and ease, particularly when driving the ball, and demonstrated instantly that he belonged at the highest level. He finished his career with a batting average of 40.01, almost identical to his first-class average of 40.02. He scored his first of five Test hundreds in Georgetown against an attack that included Roy Gilchrist, Lance Gibbs and Garry Sobers, though West Indies won that Test by eight wickets. Pakistan never won a Test he scored a hundred in, though playing in the least prolific period of Pakistan's Test history may have been a factor.
He made 508 runs in his first Test series, in the Caribbean in 1957-58, and had a taste for big hundreds: three of his five at Test level were of 150 or more.
He was a staple in the Pakistan side for most of his career, though it ended ignominiously. After getting into a spat with Dennis Lillee on Pakistan's 1972 tour of Australia, he ruled himself out of the third Test citing a back injury. The board believed he was faking it, and sent him home for indiscipline; he would never play for Pakistan again.
"The PCB is saddened over the demise of one of our former Test captains and expresses deep condolences to the family of Saeed Ahmed," PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said in a statementy.
"He served Pakistan with all his heart and the PCB honours his record and services for the Test team," the PCB chief added.
After retirement, Saeed stepped away from cricket, never working in the sport again. He lived by himself in Lahore for several years, living a reclusive life with few friends or family for company, while his deteriorating health required repeated hospital visits. He was taken to hospital at noon on Wednesday, and died soon after arrival.
He is survived by two sons, a daughter, and half-brother Younis Ahmed, who played four Tests for Pakistan.
