Abdul Qadir (cricketer)

Abdul Qadir Khan (Urdu: عبد القادر خان‎, born 15 September 1955 in Lahore) is a former Pakistani international cricketer whose main role was as a leg spin bowler. Later he was a commentator and Chief Selector of the Pakistan Cricket Board, from which post he resigned because of differences with the top brass of Pakistan cricket. Qadir appeared in 67 Test and 104 One Day International (ODI) matches between 1977 and 1993, and captained the Pakistan cricket team in five ODIs. In Test cricket, his best performance for a series was 30 wickets for 437 runs, against England in 1987. His best bowling figures for an innings were nine wickets for 56 against the same team at the Gaddafi Stadium. In ODIs, his best bowling figures were five wickets for 44 runs against Sri Lanka during the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He was a member of the Pakistani team in the 1983 and 1987 Cricket World Cups. Yahoo! Cricket described Qadir as "a master of the leg-spin" who "mastered the googlies, the flippers, the leg-breaks and the topspins." He is widely regarded as a top spin bowler of his generation and was included in Richie Benaud's Greatest XI shortlist of an imaginary cricket team from the best players available from all countries and eras. Former English captain Graham Gooch said that "Qadir was even finer than Shane Warne".