IMTIAZ Ahmed, a former cricket captain of Pakistan, passed away on Saturday after developing complications from a recent lung infection.

First of the greats amongst wicket-keeper batsmen of the country, Imtiaz with Waqar Hasan was one of the two survivors of Pakistan’s inaugural Test against India in 1952 at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground.

As an attacking right-handed batsman he had this uncanny reputation of facing up to any fast bowler of his time without much fuss or fanfare because of his sharp reflexes and the ability to hook, pull, cut and sweep with panache and authority.

A precocious talent right from the day he entered the Islamia High School Bhatti Gate to his debut for Northern India in Ranji Trophy in 1944-45 at the age of 16 to a star figure for Pakistan at Test level, he played cricket the way it should be played — in the best spirits of the game — which deservedly earned him the Pride of Performance and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and later in retirement a Lifetime Achievement award from the PCB.

Having scored two centuries on his debut season for Northern India he later shot into limelight with a blistering hundred against the Australian Services in 1945-46 while facing bowlers such as Keith Miller, Cecil Pepper and Pettiford.

But not many people know that even before Pakistan played its first ever Test, Imtiaz hit an unbeaten 300 in a day at the Brabourne Stadium in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1952 while playing for Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru XI against a Commonwealth team. He was invited from Pakistan.

With his team following on 332 runs behind, he opened the batting in the second innings to make 263 before being hit on the face by R.R.Doovey to retire back to the dressing room. Back on 485 for 5 he scored that triple century sharing partnerships with Rusi Modi, Vijay Manjrekar, Mushtaq Ali and S.Jayasinghe.

Keith Miller, Derek Shakelton and spinner Sonny Ramadhin were flogged all round as he unleashed brilliant strokes through the gaps.

‘Caught Imtiaz bowled Fazal’ had become a regular feature of any Test that Pakistan played under Abdul Hafeez Kardar in the fifties.

In Pakistan’s first win in a Test in England on their 1954 tour, Imtiaz held seven catches behind the stumps off the great Fazal in Pakistan stunning victory to level the series. He picked 86 victims on that tour of England, more than any visiting keeper in England to date.

Not much later in 1954-55 he scored a superb 209 against New Zealand at Bagh-e-Jinnah while sharing a 308-run seventh wicket stand with Waqar Hasan (189) after Pakistan were struggling at 111 for 6. It was the first-ever double century scored by a wicket-keeper in Test history.

He was also one of the three batsmen to share over hundred-run partnership with late Hanif Mohammad during his marathon 337 in the 1958 Barbados Test. His 91 was packed with belligerent strokes off the West Indian fast bowlers Roy Gilchrist and Dewdney.

Having retired as a wing commander of PAF, Imtiaz continued to show interest with the game as chairman of selection committee, consultant of women’s wing of PCB from 2005 to 2008 and adviser to the National Cricket Academy.

Imtiaz was the safest man with the gloves behind the stumps and as valuable to the team with the bat as was Moin Khan, Rashid Latif and now Sarfraz Ahmed.

Convivial, soft spoken, modest and always willing for a word of advice, he also was a keen poet of the Urdu language.

May he rest in eternal peace.

Published in Dawn January 1st, 2017