KARACHI/LAHORE, May 30: A host of Pakistan cricket greats, led by icons Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, described the death of legendary Fazal Mahmood as a great national loss. Hanif, easily the finest batsman Pakistan possessed in early years of Test cricket, said he was stunned by the news of Fazal’s passing away in Lahore on Monday.

“I’m just devastated by the tragic news. He was a dear friend of mine,” the Little Master said of Fazal. “I am lost for words at the moment.”

Hanif described Fazal as the greatest bowler of his era. “He was without any doubt the finest bowler of the early period of Pakistan cricket.

“Without Fazal, we wouldn’t have beaten the likes of India, England and Australia in the first Test series against all these countries. Fazal single-handedly carried the bowling attack on his shoulders.

“Fazal was foremost in putting Pakistan cricket on track soon after the independence. The fact we got Test status in such a short time was because of Fazal who won us matches on his own.”

Hanif said Fazal was a kind-hearted person who always cared for others. “I can never forget those early days when as a youngster I always sought Fazal’s help for guidance. And never once he refused.

“His personality was awesome. Like Keith Miller (the great Australian all-rounder who died last year), Fazal was very handsome during his playing days.”

Imran Khan said Fazal was a role model for him. “We learnt a lot from him. And his role in Pakistan’s victory against England at Oval has proved an inspiration for all the upcoming players.

“He was instrumental in helping Pakistan emerge from the colonial mindset and made us realise as a nation that the British can be defeated in cricket as well.”

Javed Miandad termed Fazal as one of the greatest cricketers of all times, who did not get the kind of limelight he richly deserved.

“Fazal was a true legend of cricket. But unfortunately he did not get the recognition he should have got. Just imagine what would have happened if Fazal was not there to help out in the formative years of Pakistan cricket.

“Sadly as a nation, we seldom utilized his services.”

Zaheer Abbas echoed Miandad’s words, but added that successive cricket administrations were responsible for ignoring Fazal’s contributions.

“Fazal was the man who earned the Test status with match-winning spells in unofficial matches against the MCC team in 1951. But what happened once he retired from Test cricket? We forgot him and hardly invited the great man to coach youngsters.”

Majid Khan pointed out that in Fazal’s death Pakistan cricket has lost the pillar of Pakistan cricket’s early years. “His records speak for themselves. We shall always remain grateful to Fazal for putting Pakistan on the map of international cricket.

“Although, I never really saw him play, he was one of the inspiring figures for us. It’s a huge loss not only for Pakistan cricket but international cricket in general.”

Wasim Akram described the doyen of Pakistan pace bowlers as a true role model. “He was a great bowler who earned Pakistan a lot of respect.”

Wasim Bari said that Fazal’s death was the second great loss for Pakistan sport in recent months. “We had barely recovered from the shock of the sad demise of Omar Kureishi (a senior cricket writer) when the news of Fazal’s death further depressed us. He was the doyen of pace bowlers who played for Pakistan.”

Rashid Latif felt Pakistan should always feel proud of producing a legend like Fazal. “Like Hanif (Mohammad), Imtiaz (Ahmed), Fazal was one of the pillars of our national. As a kid I remember that I used to recall his feats by looking at a 1954 black and white photograph of Fazal holding a wicket in his hand after winning the Oval Test for Pakistan. To me he was a great hero.”

Waqar Younis termed the death of Fazal as a great national loss. “He was a great bowler as well as a great human being and his services for the game will be remembered for a long time.”

Waqar recalled that he had the honour to attend a national training camp under Fazal’s supervision in 1990 and learnt a lot from him. He (Fazal) had always stressed the need for maintaining discipline and said it was the single most important factor in the game, he added.

Zulfiqar Ahmad, who had played with Fazal in early Tests, said that Fazal would always come to the rescue of team with his match-winning performances.

“His 12 wickets against India and England and 13 against Australia are a few examples which prove how effective a bowler he was,” he said.

“Fazal played cricket at a time when commercialism was still far from having any role in the game hence his performance with the leather was always for the country and he was a true patriot, he said.

To him the only great cricketers were Fazal and Keith Miller, he said.

Aamir Sohail said Fazal was one of the founding members of the game. “With his unparalleled talent, Fazal laid a strong foundation for the game in the country,” he said.

Imtiaz Ahmed, the wicket-keeper who played with Fazal, said the great bowler was his close buddy and spent many years with him.

“I have decades-long association with Fazal and due to sweet memories of our friendship I feel proud and I would say that he was the hero of our bowling and his services will always be remembered,” Imtiaz noted.

Shafqat Rana termed Fazal as a refined cricketer whose services for the country will always be remembered for leading the side to victories against top teams. “It is hard to come across a perfect bowler like him who has a variety in moving the ball in and out.”

He quoted Fazal as saying: “If I had good fielders in slips I was confident that I would have taken 300 wickets.”

Nasimul Ghani, another who played alongside Fazal, described the late cricketer a great gentleman and great ambassador for the game. “I played three years with Fazal and found him to a decent man.”

Salahuddin Ahmed remarked that Fazal was not only a great cricketer, but also a fine human being who also contributed his bits for the sake of humanity. “He was close to religion and did a lot of work in that field well.”