Ghulam Ahmed (4 July 1922 – 28 October 1998) was an

off spin Off spin is a type of finger spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners are right-handed spin bowlers who use their fingers to spin the ball. Their normal delivery is an off break, which ...

bowler who captained

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

. After his retirement, he served for many years as the secretary of BCCI.

Early life

He was educated at the Madrassa-e-Aliya.

Cricket career

He played first-class cricket for

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

from 1939-40 to 1958-59, and 22 Tests for India from 1948-49 to 1958-59. He toured England in 1952 and Pakistan in 1954-55. He captained India in one Test against New Zealand in 1955-56, which was drawn, and two Tests against West Indies in 1958-59, both of which India lost. He was the leading bowler on the 1952 tour, taking 80 wickets in first-class matches at 21.92, and 15 in the four Tests at 24.73. ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' said he "had days when he looked in the highest world class, but on other occasions he lacked bite". In the first innings of the First Test he bowled 63 overs and took 5 for 100. In the match against

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

he took 8 for 84 and 5 for 66. In the First Test against Pakistan in 1952-53, the inaugural Test between the two neighbours, he took five wickets, and made 50 at number 11, putting on 109 for the tenth wicket with

Hemu Adhikari Colonel Hemchandra "Hemu" Ramachandra Adhikari (31 July 1919 – 25 October 2003) was an Indian cricketer, representing his country as both a player and a coach in a career that spanned three decades. Life and career A talented right-h ...

. In the Third Test against Australia in Calcutta in 1956-57 he took 7 for 49 and 3 for 81, his best Test innings and match figures. His best match and innings first-class figures came in the match against

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

in the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

in 1947-48, when he took 5 for 28 and 9 for 53. When

Holkar The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the M ...

made 757 against Hyderabad in 1950-51 he had bowling figures of 92.3-21-245-4. He managed the Indian team that toured Australia and New Zealand in 1967-68.

Later years

Ahmed was one of the founders of the Sultan-ul-Uloom Education Society.

Personal life and family

He was the uncle of the former Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal, and the great-uncle of Indian tennis player

Sania Mirza Sania Mirza (; born 15 November 1986) is an Indian professional tennis player. A former doubles world No. 1, she has won six major titles – three in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. From 2003 until her retirement from singles ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Ghulam India Test cricket captains India Test cricketers Indian cricketers Indian cricket administrators Hyderabad cricketers Muslims cricketers South Zone cricketers Telugu people 1922 births 1998 deaths Cricketers from Hyderabad, India