LAHORE: Imtiaz Ahmed, a member of the country’s first Test team, died in a Lahore hospital on Saturday after a brief illness, his family said.

Imtiaz Ahmed, 88, featured in Pakistan’s first Test played in Delhi against India in October 1952 and went on to play 41 matches as a wicketkeeper-batsman of exceptional ability.

“He (Imtiaz) was suffering from chest infection and died early on Saturday,” a member of his family told local media.

He was known as an aggr­essive batsman who had a variety of strokes, most notably the hook and the pull shot. He scored 2,079 Test runs for Pakistan with a car­eer best of 209 against New Zealand in Lahore in 1955.

He put on 152 for the first wicket with the legendary Hanif Mohammad in the Bri­dgetown Test against West Indies in 1958, scoring 91.

His death means that middle-order batsman Waqar Hasan is now the only surviving member of the country’s first Test team.

A wicket-keeper/batsman par excellence:

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2017