Pakistan’s former Test cricketer and chief selector Mohammad Ilyas has breathed his last in Lahore after a protracted illness. He was 79.
Right-hand batter and right-arm leg-spin bowler had played 10 Test matches along with 82 first-class and two List-A games between 1961 and 1976.
Mohammad Ilyas made his Test debut against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 4, 1964 and played his last Test match against England at Dhaka from February 28 to March 3, 1969. Apart from one Test century, he boasted a record of 12 first-class tons, having scored 4,607 runs in the format.
His solitary Test century came in the third Test match of a 2-0 home series win over New Zealand in March-April 1965. He played a masterful 126 while opening the batting as Pakistan hunted down the 202-run target in Karachi to seal the series.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has expressed sorrow and grief over the sad demise of an ex-cricketer. He extended his heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the bereaved family, while also paying homage to the late Mr Ilyas for his valuable services to the game of cricket in Pakistan.
