Saeed Ahmed (; 1 October 1937 – 20 March 2024) was a Pakistani

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

er who captained the national team, and later became a preacher and member of

Tablighi Jamaat Tablighi Jamaat ( , also translated as "propagation party" or "preaching party") is an international Islamic schools and branches, Islamic religious movement. It focuses on exhorting Muslims to be more religiously observant and encourages f ...

. Born in 1937 at

Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

in what was then

British Punjab The Punjab Province, officially the Province of the Punjab, was a province of British India, with its capital in Lahore and summer capitals in Murree and Simla. At its greatest extent, it stretched from the Khyber Pass to Delhi; and from th ...

, part of

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and educated at Government Islamia College in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, Saeed's brother Younis Ahmed also played cricket for Pakistan. A right-handed middle order batsman with a powerful drive and bowled

off-break Off spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners bowl with their right-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery is called an off break, which spins from left to ...

s, Saeed made his Test début on 17 January 1958 against

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. He made 65 in the second innings, at one stage partnering with Hanif Mohammad who went on to make 337. Saeed finished the series with 508 runs. Saeed captained his side in three drawn Tests in 1968–69 but his career ended in controversial circumstances when he declared himself unfit for the third Test against

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in 1972 due to what he claimed was a back injury. In the previous Test, he had been involved in a heated altercation with Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee and the Pakistan management was sceptical about Saeed's injury. In all, Saeed played 41 Tests, scoring 2991 runs at 40.41 and taking 22 wickets at 36.45.

Personal life and death

Saeed married renowned businesswoman Begum Salma Ahmed, a relative of

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

diplomat

Shahryar Khan Shahryar Mohammad Khan (; 29 March 1934 – 23 March 2024) was a Pakistani career diplomat who became Foreign Secretary of Pakistan in 1990, and remained so until his retirement from service in 1994. He later served as United Nations Special Re ...

, and became involved in the business. In 1980, he quit his cricket and business careers and joined

as a preacher. Saeed Ahmed died on 20 March 2024, at the age of 86.

Records

* Fastest Pakistani Cricketer to reach 1,000 test runs (20 innings).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Saeed 1937 births 2024 deaths Pakistan Test cricketers Cricketers from Jalandhar Pakistan Test cricket captains International Cavaliers cricketers Recipients of the Pride of Performance Pakistani cricketers Pakistan Universities cricketers Punjab University cricketers Lahore cricketers Pakistan International Airlines cricketers Karachi Whites cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Karachi Blues cricketers Karachi cricketers Public Works Department cricketers Sindh cricketers Punjab (Pakistan) cricketers Central Zone (Pakistan) cricketers Tablighi Jamaat people Pakistani Sunni Muslims Government Islamia College alumni