Fazal Mahmood, Abdul Qadir inducted into PCB Hall of Fame

LAHORE: Former captains Fazal Mahmood and Abdul Qadir have been inducted into the PCB Hall of Fame posthumously.

The two stalwarts have joined Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Zaheer Abbas.

Fazal and Qadir were inducted following a voting process.

A 13-person independent voting panel, comprising three ICC Cricket Hall of Famers, four former Pakistan captains and six members of print and electronic media, was constituted to take part in the voting process, which was overseen by an internal auditor.

The formal inductions of all the eight PCB Hall of Famers will take place during the ongoing season.

PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja said: “It is befitting that Fazal Mahmood and Abdul Qadir, legends from two different eras, be voted by their peers and admirers into the PCB Hall of Fame for 2021. This is a testament to their enormous popularity and is also a recognition of their services to this great game.

“Fazal’s heroics in the early days introduced Pakistan cricket to the world as a force to be reckoned with and later inspired the next generations of fast bowlers. The wily, crafty and magical Abdul Qadir revived and reignited the slowly vanishing art of wrist-spin bowling.

“Fazal Mahmood and Abdul Qadir are all-time greats and outstanding ambassadors for Pakistan. This is just a small token of our appreciation and gratitude towards their contributions,” he said.

Fazal, considered the first superstar of Pakistan cricket, was born on February. 18, 1927, in Lahore and took 139 wickets in 34 Tests from 1952 to 1962, including five wickets in an innings 13 times and 10 wickets or more in a match four times.

His first-class career had commenced eight years earlier when he represented Northern India in the Ranji Trophy. When he hung his boots after the 1963-64 season, he had grabbed 466 wickets in 112 matches.

In Pakistan’s debut Test series in 1952 in India, Fazal took 20 wickets, including 12 in the Lucknow Test, which Pakistan won by an innings and 43 runs. In the return series in 1954-55, Fazal took 15 wickets in four Tests. In the 1960-61 series he picked up nine wickets in five Tests.

In 1955, Fazal became the first Pakistan cricketer to be named in Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year, a year after his performances had helped Pakistan draw their first series against England in England. Fazal claimed 20 wickets in the four-Test series, including match figures of 12 for 99 at The Oval that earned AH Kardar’s side a 24-run victory.

Fazal’s varied swing and a mixture of leg-cutters were too much to handle for the West Indies as the maestro picked up 20 wickets in the 1957-58 series in the Caribbean and then followed up by 21 wickets in three Tests in the 1958-59 series at home.