Pakistan great Abdul Qadir has become the latest inductee from Pakistan to have their name immortalized forever in the ICC Hall of Fame.
His nomination was confirmed by the International Cricket Council today.
Qadir appeared in 67 tests and 104 one-day internationals for Pakistan taking 236 and 132 wickets respectively, bamboozling batters with his ripping leg-spinners and outfoxing them with his masterful use of the “googly”.
His 236 wickets across his 13-year career place him third in the list of Pakistan’s all-time prolific spinners in Tests behind Danish Kaneria and Yasir Shah.
Qadir’s 9/56 against England in Lahore in 1987 also remains the best innings figure for a Pakistan bowler and the eighth of all time.
His influence on the game went beyond the playing field as his skill inspired bowlers like the Australian great Shane Warne, Pakistan’s Mushtaq Ahmed and South Africa’s Imran Tahir who kept alive the art of leg-spin long after Qadir hung up his boots.
He is still represented in the international side through his son Usman Qadir who received the award on his father’s behalf.
“On behalf of the family, I want to say thank you very much to the ICC for nominating my father for induction into the Hall of Fame,”
“It is a very big honour for the family to hear of this news, we see it as a huge achievement, and one that my father would be very proud of if he was still with us today.”
Abdul Qadir is the seventh Pakistani to have joined the ICC Hall of Fame after Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad, Waqar Younis and Zaheer Abbas.
He passed away in 2019 due to cardiac arrest.
England’s Charlotte Edwards and West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul joined Qadir as other inductees.
