ON THIS DAY
Follow UsThe reviver of a dying art during the 1970s, an entertainer with his unique run-up to the crease and the man who was famously labelled to have six different deliveries up his sleeve for every over, Abdul Qadir was in many ways one of the more important players to grace the sport of cricket.
Born on September 15, 1955, Qadir could be appropriately defined as a player who had aggression, passion and, more importantly, an intuition of what the batsmen expected. Being a decent lower-order batsman himself, Qadir excelled in varying his balls to different lengths and angles to become a dangerous weapon for Pakistan.
He emerged into international cricket at a time when leg spin was no longer an attractive option, and brutal bouncer-loving speedsters ruled the game as well as the hearts. Hence, Qadir needed something more than talent; he had to become an enigma to be well-accepted.
And he did! Pakistan captain Imran Khan had famously asked Qadir to grow a French beard just before Pakistan’s tour of England in 1982 to compound his mystery bowling with an aura, and the leg-spinner carried it beautifully. Qadir would go on to take 10 wickets in three Tests against England in 1982, which was two less than what he managed in his debut series against the British in 1977-78.
Qadir dabbled in six different deliveries from a similar bowling action: the orthodox leg-break, a top-spin, two varying googlies and a lethal flipper. And stronger teams of that era, like England, Australia, and West Indies, had simply no clue how to tackle it.
Qadir’s breakout year was 1982, when he produced a world-class performance against the mighty Australians touring Pakistan. In three matches, Qadir would take 22 wickets, thus helping the hosts to whitewash Australia 3-0.
The Pakistani bowler’s favourite opponent was, however, England. Qadir had five 10-wicket hauls throughout his career, with four coming against England. Amongst his 15 five-wicket hauls, eight came against England. His 7 for 96 against them at the Oval is still considered one of the finest performances by any bowler.
England would tour Pakistan a few months later, and Qadir would tear them apart at Lahore with an iconic 9 for 56 performance. Legendary England opener Graham Gooch had touted him as the best leg spinner ever.
Everything about Qadir’s bowling, from licking his palm to the unconventional hip-hop angular run-up, was a ploy to deceive the batsman. He mastered hiding his intentions until the very last moment, and his greatness is evident at West Indies’ absolute helplessness against him.
The team to beat during the 1980s, Pakistan, was the only team that West Indies couldn’t really dominate, and Qadir was a big factor in it. Qadir had taken 42 wickets in 10 matches against West Indies with an economy of 3.09. His most famous display against the Caribbean was the 6 for 16 at Faisalabad as Pakistan had brought West Indies to their knees.
Interestingly, the only opponent against whom Qadir remained quite underwhelming throughout his career was Pakistan’s archrival India. Having played 16 times against India, Qadir could notch up only 27 wickets, with his best figures being a 4 for 67 in Karachi in 1982.
Qadir was also a constant presence in Pakistan’s ODI team, but he was, at best, a decent bowler with the white ball, taking 132 wickets in 104 ODIs. It was in Test cricket that he defined an era and inspired the youth to take up leg spin bowling. Qadir retired with 236 Test wickets in 67 matches.
Qadir was handed the role of Pakistan’s chief selector in 2008, but differences with the management saw him resigning after just six months. He passed away on September 06, 2019, of a heart attack.
