India cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and former Pakistan captain Imran Khan paid tribute to spin legend Abdul Qadir, who died in Lahore after suffering a cardiac arrest. Abdul Qadir, who would have turned 64 on September 15, died before he could be brought to a hospital.
“I have lost a good friend and a wonderful cricketer who served the country so well,” Imran Khan said in his condolence message. Sachin Tendulkar offered his condolences to Qadir’s family and called the Pakistan great as “one of the best spinners of his times”.
Imran played an instrumental role in turning Qadir into a household name as it was under his captaincy that the leg-spinner flourished to secure many Test and one-day victories for Pakistan, including a 9 for 56 in one Test against the West Indies at Faisalabad in 1986.
Former bowler Shoaib Akhtar tweeted a video message over the demise of Qadir noting that the death of the legendary leg-spinner had come as a big shock to him.
“Just got this sad news. The revival of leg spin in cricket is completely credited to him. He inspired a generation of bowlers to take up leg spin.”
Legendary cricketer Wasim Akram, in his condolence message, said that Qadir was called the magician for many reasons but “when he looked at me in the eyes and told me that I was going to play for Pakistan for the next 20 years, I believed him.”
“A magician, absolutely. A leg spinner and a trailblazer of his time. You will be missed Abdul Qadir but never forgotten,” he wrote.
Qadir played 67 Tests and 104 ODIs to pick up a total of 368 wickets in his international career. All four of his sons — Rehman, Imran, Sulaman and Usman — have played first-class cricket in Pakistan. His youngest son Usman, also a leg-spinner, appeared in the Big Bash T20 league last season.
