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Thursday March 28, 2024

Richard Heller delivers lecture at Sindh Madresatul Islam

By PR
February 13, 2018

KARACHI: The UK based historian of Pakistan cricket and renowned novelist Mr. Richard Heller has said that Master Aziz, a sports teacher and a coach of Sindh Madressatul Islam University (SMIU) had a great contribution in promotion of cricket in early days of Pakistan.

Delivering the lecture on the subject of “Contribution of Sindh Madressatul Islam and Master Aziz towards promotion of cricket,” as a part of the international lectures, organized by SMIU at its  auditorium on Monday, Mr. Richard Heller said that Master Aziz was Durrani by clan and basically was hailing from Afghanistan. Later he came to Sindh from Afghanistan in 1930’s and was appointed as a sports teacher at Sindh Madressatul Islam.

Mr. Heller said that Master Aziz had trained a number of the best cricketers including Little Master Hanif Mohammad, his brothers and others. While his son Saleem Durrani was the only and first cricketer of Afghanistan and firstly played there.  Later Saleem had become a most important test player in India after Partition, but Hanif Mohammad was a great player than him. Mr. Richard Heller added that at that time cricket was encouraged at school, college and university levels, and these were the institutions that were producing good cricketers.

Adding to it, he said that today the situation has been changed in Pakistan and even in England. “Cricket is also in trouble on school, college and university levels in England, due to the academic pressures on students,” Mr. Heller said and maintained that the students of the England mostly give preference to their study rather than the cricket; this is why the situation has been changed in England too.

He suggested that Sindh Madressatul Islam University may get lead in revival of cricket in schools, colleges and universities like its past.***