KARACHI: Former cricket umpire Riazuddin, who served on the ICC panel as well as the on the elite panel of the Pakistan Cricket Board, died on Tuesday evening after suffering a cardiac arrest here.

According to Junaid Ghafoor, a close friend and himself PCB umpire said Riazuddin complained of chest pain while resting at home and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

“But before Riazuddin could be revived, the doctors pronounced him dead due to a heart attack,” Junaid told Dawn.

“Passing away of Riazuddin is a huge loss for me because we grew together since we lived in the same locality. He was a very decent person who was always helpful to others.”

Riazuddin, who was 60, retired from umpiring at the top level after reaching age of superannuation, stood in 12 Tests and as many One-day Internationals.

Making his debut as Test umpire at the age of 31 against West Indies at Karachi in November 1990, Riazuddin was retained for the remaining two matches of the series and officiated alongside his mentor Khizer Hayat in all three Tests.

As part of the ICC panel, Riazuddin supervised in four Tests — in which Pakistan were not involved — in Wellington, Durban, Bulawayo and Colombo between March 200 and December 2001. He also officiated in four ODIs as a ‘neutral’ umpire in late 1999.

His funeral prayers will be offered on Wednesday (today) after Zohr at Riaz-ul-Jannah Mosque in Liaquatabad B-Area.

Many cricketers and officials including former captains Rashid Latif and Moin Khan, former spinner Iqbal Qasim, PVCA chairman Fawad Ijaz, selector Tauseef Ahmed, ex-chief selector Salahuddin Sallu, KCCA president Nadeem Omar and others have expressed deep condolences at the passing away of the experienced umpire.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2019