Abdul Hafeez Kardar

Abdul Kardar

A.H. Kardar in 1954
Personal information
Full name	Abdul Hafeez Kardar
Born	(1925-01-17)17 January 1925 Lahore, Punjab, British India (now Pakistan)
Died	21 April 1996(1996-04-21) (aged 71) Islamabad, Punjab, Pakistan
Batting style	Left-handed batsman
Bowling style	Slow left arm orthodox spin bowler
Role	Pakistan captain
Relations	Zulfiqar Ahmed (brother-in-law), Farooq Kardar (cousin), CAF Hastilow (father-in-law), Shahid Kardar (son)
International information
National side	India (1946) Pakistan (1952–1958)
Test debut (cap 29/7)	22 June 1946  India v England
Last Test	26 March 1958  Pakistan v West Indies
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1953–1954	Combined Services
1948–1950	Warwickshire
1947–1949	Oxford University
1944	Muslims
1943–1945	Northern India
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 26[1] 174 Runs scored 927 6832 Batting average 23.76 29.83 100s/50s 0/5 8/32 Top score 93 173 Balls bowled 2712 24256 Wickets 21 344 Bowling average 45.42 24.55 5 wickets in innings 0 19 10 wickets in match 0 4 Best bowling 3/35 7/25 Catches/stumpings 16/– 110/–
Source: CricketArchive, 3 December 2008

Abdul Hafeez Kardar (Urdu: عبد الحفیظ کاردار ‎)  pronunciation  or Abdul Kardar (17 January 1925 – 21 April 1996) was an international cricketer, who is one of the only three players to have played Test cricket for both India and Pakistan, the other two being Amir Elahi and Gul Mohammad. He became the first captain of the Pakistan cricket team and is widely regarded as a father figure of Pakistan's cricket. He received the Pride of Performance Award from the Government of Pakistan in 1958.^[2][3]

Early career

Kardar was born in a famous Kardar Arain family of Lahore, Punjab in 1925,^[4] and educated at Islamia College, Lahore and University College, Oxford. He played domestic cricket for a variety of teams, including: Oxford University, Northern India and Muslims. He was one of the few players of his generation who played for India in Tests against England, and following the independence of Pakistan, representing Pakistan. Kardar was appointed to lead the team which would play its first official Test series touring India in 1952–53. Kardar fielded his men against Lala Amarnath's Indian team. Although India won in Delhi and Bombay and won the series, Kardar's Pakistan achieved their first Test victory in only the second Test in Lucknow.

He was a left-handed batsman and a slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, scoring 6,832 runs and taking 344 wickets in first-class cricket. He averaged 29.83 in batting, and 24.55 in bowling. Kardar played for the Pakistan team from 1948 to 1952, in the years before Pakistan was granted Test status. Kardar also played for Warwickshire and Pakistan Services.

Pakistan's captain

Kardar captained Pakistan against all the Test playing nations of the day, and achieved an unparalleled distinction of leading his team to victory against each of them, which was remarkable for a nascent cricketing nation. Especially famous was the series-levelling victory achieved touring England in 1954 at The Oval. Kardar and his men also created history by winning the first-ever and only Test against Australia in Karachi in 1957. Although aggressive, motivated and confident, Kardar's Pakistan was yet immature, inexperienced and raw in their cricketing skills to win series victories. The attitude of the players was especially criticised when all the five Tests played by the Indian cricket team on its first tour of Pakistan in 1954–1955 ended in a draw. The fear of both Indian and Pakistani players of losing to each other, owing to political tensions and the bloody legacy of independence, was too much for competitive cricket to be played. During his tenure, Pakistan won six, lost six and drew eleven matches in a total of 23 Tests. In all his positions of authority, he was inclined to be dictatorial and quickly angered, especially by any hint of criticism. But he was also a visionary and was an advocate of neutral umpires.^[5] Kardar retired from international Test cricket in 1958.^[6]

Later career

Kardar had been a strong supporter of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and an adherent to the idea of Muslim glory in India. Abdul Hafeez Kardar went into politics and served as the president of the Pakistan Cricket Board in the 1970s. His tenure was notable for increasing representation of Asian and African cricketing nations with the International Cricket Council. Kardar was forced to resign after an embarrassing pay dispute with the players in 1977. He also worked with many charitable and social development causes, and in the last years of his life was assigned as Pakistan's ambassador to Switzerland, prior to his death in his hometown, Lahore in 1996. Kardar is today credited with popularising the game with common Pakistani people and youth, for his tutelage of some of Pakistan's greatest cricketers, young talent and prodigies, and his stewardship of the Pakistan team and the board in its early years, developing a culture of pride and professionalism. He was also elected to the provincial assembly of Punjab in 1970 on a ticket of the Pakistan Peoples Party, and was also inducted in the provincial cabinet as a minister.

Books by A.H. Kardar

• Inaugural Test matches (1954)
• Test Status on Trial (1954)
• Green Shadows (1958)
• People's Commitment (1971)
• The Cricket Conspiracy (1977)
• Is the Economic Future of Our Youth Become? (1985)
• Bangladesh: The Price of Political Failure (1985)
• Memoirs of an All-rounder (1987)
• Pakistan's Soldiers of Fortune (1988)
• An Ambassador's Diary (1994)
• Failed Expectations (1995)^[7]

See also

• List of cricketers who have played for more than one international team

References

External links

• Abdul Hafeez Kardar at CricketArchive (subscription required)
• Abdul Hafeez Kardar at ESPNcricinfo