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.
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.
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, selected to play for Northern India in a Ranji Trophy match against the North-West Frontier Province. Due to the relative paucity of first-class cricket played in India at the time, Nazar only played 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 stroked a century. Jagdish’s son Arun Lal would play Test cricket for India many decades later.
Nazar played seven seasons of first-class cricket from 1940-41 to 1946-47 in undivided India, representing 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 his birth name of Mohammad Nazir to Nazar Mohammad.
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.
In April 1949, when Pakistan toured Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon), Nazar was an automatic selection. Pakistan won the first unofficial Test comfortably by an innings, with Nazar contributing 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, top-scoring in both Pakistani innings with 60 and 31, respectively.
In March 1950, Pakistan played host to Sri Lanka in a reciprocal visit. 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 year 1951 was momentous in Pakistan cricket history. The MCC (as touring England national teams were then called) was on a five-Test trip to India and made a three-week detour to Pakistan in November and December to play two unofficial Tests and some side matches. They began the Pakistan leg with a match against Punjab in Sialkot. Nazar opened the batting and made a classic 140. Interestingly, he shared a century stand for the fifth wicket with Ahmed Raza, whose nephews Javed Burki, Majid Khan, and Imran Khan would go on to play for Pakistan and captain the national Test team.
In the first unofficial Test against the MCC at Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore, Nazar had a new opening partner, 16-year-old prodigy Hanif Mohammad, who was making his first-class debut. They put on an opening stand of 96. Nazar made a polished 66, laying a strong base which helped Pakistan post 428, replying to the MCC’s 254. However, as the pitch eased out, the MCC overcame the first-innings deficit, scoring 368 for the loss of just one wicket as the match ended in a tame draw.
Pakistan won the second unofficial Test at Karachi, opening the door for their entry into the elite group of Test-playing nations.
After acquiring Test status in July 1952, Pakistan toured India in the winter of 1952-53 for five Tests and seven additional first-class matches against zonal and local teams. This tour proved to be the peak of Nazar’s career.
Nazar’s partnership with Hanif at the top of Pakistan’s batting order played a key role in Pakistan’s performance. In the opening match against North Zone, they added 88 runs for the first wicket in Pakistan’s second innings. This drawn match is remembered as the one in which 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 pair give Pakistan a steady start with a 64-run stand before Nazar was run out. Despite Pakistan’s innings defeat, Nazar established a few records: he became the first Pakistani batsman to face a ball in Test cricket and the first to score Pakistan’s maiden Test run. In India’s first innings, he took 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.
In the second Test at Lucknow, which Pakistan won by an innings, Nazar set more records. He became Pakistan’s first Test centurion, scoring 124 not out, and the first Pakistani to carry his bat through a completed Test innings. During this Test, he also became the first-ever Test cricketer to remain on the ground for the entire duration of a Test match. His innings was a masterclass in technique and patience, reaching his century in seven and a half hours and batting for a total of eight hours and thirty-five minutes. His partnership with Hanif yielded another 50-plus stand, continuing their successful association as openers.
Nazar carried his form into the side games against Mumbai and South Zone. He scored a fifty against Mumbai, sharing an 88-run opening partnership with Hanif, and both scored centuries against South Zone in a huge 248-run opening stand.
The fifth and final Test of the series at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, was Nazar’s last Test. He scored 55 and 47, sharing another substantial 94-run partnership with Hanif in Pakistan’s first innings. Remarkably, when Nazar was asked to open the bowling for Pakistan in India’s second innings, he achieved the rare honor of opening both the bowling and batting in the same Test match.
Pakistan’s final first-class match of the tour was against East Zone at Jamshedpur. Nazar scored 123 in this match, marking his final first-class innings with style.
Nazar amassed 687 first-class runs on the Indian tour at an average of 45.80, including three centuries. Upon returning to Pakistan, he played a 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 both teams featuring many players of national repute.
Just when it seemed Nazar was at his peak and destined for further honors, tragedy struck. Nazar often visited his brother Feroz Nizami at Lahore’s film studios, where he met Pakistan’s legendary singer Madam Noor Jehan. The two struck up a close friendship or dalliance. Nazar was with Noor Jehan in an upstairs hotel room when her husband, Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, arrived with a firearm. Nazar made a hasty exit by jumping out of the window, fracturing his forearm badly. Complications during healing caused the arm to be shorter than the other, effectively ending his cricket career at its prime.
Nazar was not only a highly skilled batsman but also a superb fielder, especially in the gully area. Indian commentators on his tour of India dubbed him “the prince of the gully.” He could also bowl leg spin and googlies, as well as medium pace.
After his playing days, Nazar remained engaged with cricket. 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, coaching many, including his son Mudassar Nazar.
Mudassar went on to emulate his father’s feat of carrying his bat through a completed Test innings when he scored 152 not out against India at the Gaddafi Stadium in January 1983. This is the only occasion in Test cricket history when a father and son have both achieved this distinction.
Nazar Mohammad had three sons and four daughters. His oldest son, Mubashir Nazar, played first-class cricket for the Income Tax department in the late 1970s, while his youngest son, Mufassir Nazar, shone in school cricket in Lahore. Mudassar was a regular in the national side for over ten years, playing 76 Tests for Pakistan. A nephew, Azmat Hussain Nizami, son of Mohammad Sharif, represented Lahore in a solitary first-class match in 1967-68.
A man of great personal charm and bonhomie, Nazar was also a gifted raconteur of cricketing stories. He was a talented singer, who after a tiring day’s play would regale his colleagues with his lilting voice. He even recorded a few duets with Madam Noor Jehan but chose to pursue cricket as his preferred career.
Nazar Mohammad passed away on July 12, 1996, at the age of 75.
*About the Author*
Dr. Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado, and avid reader with a private collection of over 7,000 books.
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