Asif Iqbal

Asif Iqbal, born in Hyderabad, India, moved to Pakistan with his family in 1961. He went on to lead the side in the 1979/80 tour of India.

Under his leadership, Pakistan lost the 6-match series against India 0-2. Iqbal started cricket as a medium-fast bowler before moving to batting where he became known for his exquisite cover drives.

As he focused more on his batting, Asif Iqbal went on to score his maiden Test century against England in 1967 batting at number 9. He ended up scoring a crucial 146 for Pakistan in a much-needed partnership with Intikhab Alam. In the process, Iqbal held the record for the highest score by a number 9 batsman playing in England up till 2010.

Asif Iqbal’s record stand was made even more memorable by fans who rushed out to the middle the minute Iqbal reached the landmark and raised him high on their shoulders. He was then famously “rescued” by police as the game remained suspended for five minutes, Iqbal suffered multiple injuries in the process.

Asif Iqbal’s Test career, and retirement

In his Test career spanning for 16 years, Iqbal scored 11 centuries and 12 fifties in 58 Tests with the highest score of 175 at an average of 38.85. Apart from that, he took 53 wickets that include two five-wicket hauls.

Asif Iqbal retirement from Test cricket came after the tour of India. He had also captained Pakistan in the first two editions of the Cricket World Cup.

Post-retirement, Iqbal became a match-referee. He is related to former India captain Ghulam Ahmed and former Tennis Doubles World No.1 Sania Mirza.

	Test	First-class	ODI	List A
Matches	58	440	10	259
Runs	3,575	23,329	330	5,989
Batting Avg.	38.85	37.26	55.00	27.98
50s/100s	12/11	118/45	5/0	33/3
Highest Score	175	196	62	106
Balls Bowled	3,864	18,899	592	5,017
Wickets	53	291	16	126
Bowling Avg.	28.33	30.30	23.62	25.96
5-wicket hauls	2	5	0	1
10 wickets in a match	0	0	0	0
Best Bowling Figures	5/48	6/45	4/56	5/42
Catches	36	301	7	101