Nazar Mohammad’s name is embedded in the record books and folklore of Pakistan’s Test cricket history. His story is an amazing narrative of both promise and pain, played out against the backdrop of Pakistan’s efforts to establish its credentials as a major cricketing nation.
### Early Life and Family Background
Nazar was born in Lahore on March 5, 1921, the youngest of five brothers, and at birth, his name was registered as Mohammad Nazir. Two of his elder brothers, Sharif and Sultan, were cricketers, with Sharif having represented Northern India in the Ranji Trophy. Another brother, Ferozuddin Ahmed, better known as Feroz Nizami, became a renowned music composer and director. In the music and film world, he was nicknamed the Ustad of Bombay and was the person who launched the career of Mohammad Rafi. After the creation of Pakistan, Feroz became one of the pioneers of the new nation’s film industry, producing many popular movies and musical hits.
The fifth sibling, Siraj Nizami, was a well-known scholar and writer with a special interest in Sufism.
### Cricketing Beginnings
Nazar was a cricketing child prodigy and first attracted attention when he scored 217 for Islamia High School, Bhaati Gate, against the Sheranwala Gate branch of the same institution. After matriculation, he joined Islamia College, where he established an impressive reputation as a highly skilled opening batsman.
Nazar made his first-class debut in November 1940, when he was selected to play for Northern India in a Ranji Trophy match against the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). Due to the relative paucity of first-class cricket played in India at the time, Nazar played only three first-class matches in his inaugural season.
Interestingly, in the third match between Northern India and a strong Maharashtra eleven, Nazar’s brother Mohammad Sharif was also in the Northern Indian side. While Nazar was dismissed for just 21, Sharif registered his maiden first-class hundred.
The following year’s Ranji Trophy competition began on a very positive note for Nazar. Playing for Northern India against the NWFP, Nazar and Jagdish Lal opened their team’s innings with a partnership of 273, compiled in just 207 minutes. Nazar went on to score 175 in a huge team total of 613 for 5 declared. Nazar’s brother Sharif also posted a noteworthy 93, and the two siblings shared a 42-run partnership for the fifth wicket. The Northern Indian side was captained by the famous Dr. Jahangir Khan, who also scored a century. Jagdish’s son, Arun Lal, would play Test cricket for India many decades later.
### Career in Undivided India
Nazar played seven seasons of first-class cricket from 1940-41 to 1946-47 in undivided India, for teams like Northern India, Muslims, and the North Zone. At the local level, he was a member of the Mamdot Club and played regularly for them at Lahore’s famous Minto Park, now known as Iqbal Park. It was during his playing days at Minto Park that his name changed from Mohammad Nazir to Nazar Mohammad.
### First-Class Cricket in Pakistan
First-class cricket in Pakistan started in December 1947. In the inaugural match between Punjab and Sindh, Nazar opened the batting for Punjab alongside Mian Mohammad Saeed. His knock of 42 helped lay the foundation for a healthy team total of 421, which was enough to set up an innings victory for his side.
When the West Indies toured Pakistan in the winter of 1948 to play an unofficial Test, Nazar was selected for the national side and opened the batting with Imtiaz Ahmed. Their partnership of 148 was the first century stand for Pakistan in representative international cricket.
When Pakistan toured Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) in April 1949, Nazar was an automatic selection for the team. Pakistan won the first unofficial Test comfortably by an innings, though Nazar contributed just 29. However, in the second unofficial Test, Nazar was in scintillating form. In response to Sri Lanka’s score of 298, Nazar and Murawwat Hussain added 269 runs together for the second wicket in Pakistan’s total of 463, with Nazar making 170. Pakistan’s lead of 165 runs enabled the tourists to achieve a 10-wicket win.
Later that year, a Commonwealth team, including the likes of Frank Worrell, Bill Alley, and George Tribe, played a single international game against Pakistan and inflicted a surprisingly comprehensive defeat, winning by an innings and 177 runs. Nazar salvaged some pride for the home team by top-scoring in both Pakistani innings with 60 and 31, respectively.
In March 1950, Pakistan played host to Sri Lanka, who were reciprocating Pakistan’s visit to the island a year earlier. Nazar represented Pakistan in one of the two unofficial Tests, sharing a 61-run opening partnership with Imtiaz Ahmed as Pakistan secured an innings victory.
### The Historic 1951 MCC Tour and Partnership with Hanif Mohammad
The year 1951 was momentous in Pakistan cricket history. The MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club, representing England at the time) toured India and made a three-week de-tour to Pakistan in November and December to play two unofficial Tests and some side matches.
They began the Pakistan leg of their tour with a match against Punjab in Sialkot. Nazar, opening the batting for the home team, made a classic 140. Interestingly, he shared a century stand for the fifth wicket with Ahmed Raza, whose nephews would go on to play for Pakistan and captain the national Test team: Javed Burki, Majid Khan, and Imran Khan.
In the first unofficial Test against the MCC at Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore, Nazar had a new opening partner—Hanif Mohammad. This 16-year-old prodigy was making his first-class debut, and he helped Nazar put on an opening wicket stand of 96. Nazar made a polished 66, laying a strong base which Pakistan used to post 428 in reply to MCC’s 254. However, as the pitch eased out, the MCC overcame the first-innings deficit and the match ended in a draw.
Pakistan won the second unofficial Test at Karachi, opening the door for their eventual entry into the elite group of Test-playing nations.
### Pakistan’s Entry into Test Cricket and Nazar’s Record-Breaking Achievements
After acquiring Test status in July 1952, Pakistan embarked on a tour of India in the winter of 1952-53 that included five Tests and seven additional first-class matches against zonal and leading local teams. This tour would prove to be the peak of Nazar’s career.
Nazar’s partnership with Hanif at the top of Pakistan’s batting order became a key factor in Pakistan’s performance.
– In the opening match against the North Zone, the pair added 88 runs for the first wicket in Pakistan’s second innings. This drawn match is still remembered as the one in which the 17-year-old Hanif became the youngest player in the world to score a century in each innings of a first-class game.
– The first Test at Delhi saw the Nazar-Hanif partnership give Pakistan a steady start with a stand of 64 before Nazar was run out. Although Pakistan suffered an innings defeat, Nazar established several records. He became the first Pakistani batsman to face a ball in Test cricket and the first to score a run for Pakistan in Test cricket. Additionally, he held a catch to dismiss Vijay Manjrekar off the bowling of Amir Elahi, becoming the first Pakistani cricketer to hold a catch in a Test match.
– The second Test at Lucknow resulted in a historic victory for Pakistan by an innings. Nazar became Pakistan’s first Test centurion with an unbeaten 124. He also became the first Pakistani batsman to carry his bat through an entire completed Test innings. Furthermore, he earned the distinction of being the first ever Test cricketer to stay on the ground for the entire duration of a Test match.
Nazar’s innings was a masterclass in technique and patience, reaching his century in seven and a half hours and occupying the crease for eight hours and thirty-five minutes. His partnership with Hanif yielded another 50-plus runs, continuing their successful association as openers.
### Later Matches and Final Tests
Nazar carried his good form into side games against Mumbai and the South Zone, scoring a fifty and sharing an 88-run opening partnership with Hanif against Mumbai. Against the South Zone, both Nazar and Hanif scored centuries in a massive opening-wicket partnership of 248.
The fifth and final Test of the series at Eden Gardens in Kolkata was Nazar’s last Test match. He ended with scores of 55 and 47, along with another substantial 94-run partnership with Hanif.
In a rare feat during this match, Nazar was asked to open the bowling for Pakistan in India’s second innings, thus achieving the rare honor of opening both the batting and bowling in the same Test match.
Pakistan’s final first-class match of the tour was against the East Zone at Jamshedpur. This was the last first-class match of Nazar’s career, and he marked the occasion with an innings of 123, bowing out with style and flourish.
Nazar scored a total of 687 first-class runs on this Indian tour at an average of 45.80. His tally included three centuries.
### Career-Ending Incident
On returning to Pakistan, Nazar played another three-day match for the Pakistan Eaglets against Azam Khan’s Eleven, scoring a century. However, this match has not been recognized as first-class despite featuring many players of national repute.
Just when it seemed Nazar was at the peak of his powers, tragedy struck through an incident that has become part of cricketing folklore.
As the story goes, Nazar often visited his brother Feroz Nizami at the film studios in Lahore. There, he met Pakistan’s legendary singer Madam Noor Jehan, and they struck up a close friendship or dalliance.
One day, Nazar was with Noor Jehan in an upstairs hotel room when her husband, Shaukat Husain Rizvi, arrived with a firearm. Nazar made a hasty exit by jumping out of the window, fracturing his forearm badly. Complications during the healing phase left the broken arm shorter than the other, effectively bringing Nazar’s cricketing career to a halt at its very prime.
### Playing Style and Post-Playing Career
Nazar was not only a high-quality, technically gifted batsman but also a superb fielder, especially in the gully area, earning him the nickname “Prince of the Gully” by Indian commentators during his India tour. He could bowl leg-spin and googlies as well as medium pace.
Even after ending his playing career, Nazar stayed deeply involved with the game. As an umpire, he officiated in 57 first-class matches between 1957 and 1978. He also served as a national coach from 1959 to 1981. Among his best pupils was his own son, Mudassar Nazar.
Mudassar would go on to emulate his father’s remarkable feat of carrying his bat through an entire completed Test innings, scoring 152 not out versus India at the Gaddafi Stadium in January 1983. This remains the only occasion in Test cricket history when a father and son have both achieved this distinction.
### Family and Legacy
Nazar Mohammad had three sons and four daughters. His oldest son, Mubashir Nazar, played a few seasons of first-class cricket for the Income Tax Department in the late 1970s, while his youngest son, Mufassir Nazar, excelled in school cricket in Lahore. Mudassar was a regular member of the national side for over ten years, playing 76 Tests for Pakistan.
A nephew, Azmat Hussain Nizami, the son of Mohammad Sharif, represented Lahore in a solitary first-class match in 1967-68.
Known for his great personal charm and warmth, Nazar was a delightful raconteur of cricketing stories. He was also a gifted singer who, after a tiring day’s play, would regale colleagues and friends with his lilting voice. He even recorded a few duets with Noor Jehan but chose to pursue cricket as his preferred career.
Nazar Mohammad passed away on July 12, 1996, at the age of 75.
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*Dr. Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado, and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7,000 books.*
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