Written by: Muhammad Suhayb
Posted on: April 02, 2024 | 
| 中文
(L to R) Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Fazal Mehmood and Imtiaz Ahmed
‘I'll be back’, has been the most iconic line from The Terminator (1984), delivered by Arnold Schwarzenegger's character. The line seems to have been adopted by Pakistan’s cricketers, who despite bidding adieu to their international careers, are always waiting for a comeback.
After a phenomenal performance in PSL 9, all-rounder Imad Wasim and left arm fast bowler Muhammad Amir have been included in the probable list for 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. They had retired from playing for Pakistan, Amir in 2020 and Imad in 2023. With their return, the line from Terminator applies to them like a glove.
Muhammad Amir and Imad Wasim
This is not the first time that a retired cricketer has decided to make a return, in fact it has happened many a time. Pakistan’s first captain and later Board of Cricket Control in Pakistan (BCCP) chief, Abdul Hafiz Kardar, was the first one who opted to return. Kardar started out playing test cricket for undivided India in 1946, but moved to lead Pakistan once it gained Test Status in 1951. From 1952-1958, he captained the team on all tours and led it to victory, at least once against India, England and the West Indies on their home ground. At home, he led the Pakistan team to victory over Australia and New Zealand, but handed over the reins of captaincy to his deputy, the legendary Fazal Mehmood in 1958.
In Kardar’s absence, Pakistan won a series against West Indies but lost three consecutive tests at home, two against Richie Benaud’s Australia. On the other hand, the Pakistan hockey team defeated India in Rome, clinching its first gold in Olympics. The hockey victory charged up Kardar, who decided to return for the upcoming tour of India. Times had changed and Kardar failed to do well, although he had flown from England, where he was settled, in order to play a trial match in Lahore. Dubbed as Fazal XI and Kardar XI’s match, Fazal picked the fastest bowler to trouble his former captain. Pacer Muhammad Farooq took only a few deliveries to dislodge the bails of Kardar, who struggled to see the ball.
Hanif Muhammad, popularly known as the Little Master
The stylish No.3 batsman Saeed Ahmed, had a run in with the high-ups. Debuting against West Indies in 1958, with over 500 runs, Saeed was an attractive stroke player. A temperamental player, he had his share of controversies. First, he manhandled BCCP Chief for sacking him as captain in 1968, and then forced the management to change his batting order. In the 1971 tour of England and the 1972/73 tour of Australia, his reluctance to bat at the top order, gave the elegant Zaheer Abbas and the majestic Majid Khan opportunity as premier batsmen. For his usual ‘locking him up in the washroom’ tactics, he was dumped from the Pakistan team from that toured Australia and New Zealand. Kardar, who was the President of BCCP, took Saeed’s passport with him, leaving him nine runs short of completing 3000 test runs. In 1977, with Kardar no more at the helm of affairs, 40-year-old Saeed tried to make a comeback. His sole purpose was to get the required nine runs, but with two cheap dismissals at the three-day match in Peshawar, he did badly.
Saeed Ahmed batting
During the 1975-1996 era, Javed Miandad and Imran Khan were responsible for Pakistan’s most wins. It is generally believed that Imran Khan, the man who led Pakistan to its first World Cup win, decided to call it a day after victory at Melbourne. Imran Khan had retired in 1987 and made a comeback occasionally. However, the disagreement in the team regarding the distribution of prize money after winning the World Cup, proved to be the final nail in the coffin. Khan’s demand that the players donate their share of prize money to the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital, caused a feud, with players like Ramiz Raja and Javed Miandad opposing it strongly.
Team Pakistan after winning the World Cup 1992
Imran Khan decided to skip the upcoming tour of England in 1992, anticipating that poor team performance would lead to his recall. However, Pakistan's unexpected success in the test series prevented his return, ultimately resulting in his retirement from international cricket in September 1992.
Former captain Javed Miandad, was out of the squad for over a year, when he was named to the 1996 World Cup squad. Javed’s teary press conference, and the public pressure on Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, persuaded her to ask him to come out of his retirement. Already a shadow of his former self, his comeback meant that his protégé, Basit Ali, was not selected. Javed managed 54 runs in the three matches he played, and was well past his prime. Reports say that he even tried to include himself in the seventh World Cup as a coach-cum-player, but resigned days before the team’s departure to England in 1999.
Shoaib Akhtar in 2011 World Cup
World Cup tournaments have seen many legends bow out in shame since 1999. Saleem Malik managed only 19 runs in 4 matches in 1999, never to be seen again. Captain Waqar Younis barely managed seven wickets in seven matches of the 2003 edition, Inzamam ul Haq could not even score 100 in the 2007 edition, ‘Rawalpindi Express’ Shoaib Akhtar turned out to be a spent force in 2011 edition, while Younis Khan, the man who could find his way in any all-time test team, was extra baggage in the 2015 edition. Younis’ unusual idea of opening the batting at the age of 40 backfired, as he was caught behind by Dhoni off Muhammad Shami for just six runs.
Younus Khan after getting out against India in 2015 World Cup
Similarly, the all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, had a sad end to his career. He was bowled out on the first ball by South Africa’s Imran Tahir in a T20 match in Dubai, circa 2013. Just three years earlier in Abu Dhabi, Razzaq smashed Proteas to all parts of the ground in order to snatch an unbelievable win, yet his comeback didn’t do justice to his reputation as a match-winner.
Usually, Pakistani players are the last ones to accept that they are past their prime. Whenever an ICC event approaches, players spring out of hibernation and make themselves available for selection. Shahid Afridi, Ahmed Shahzad, Shoaib Malik, Umer Akmal and even Imran Nazir were always found eagerly wanting to return.
With handful of games left before the finalization of 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, the training regime by the Pakistan Army at Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul, could make or break players. Unlike the legends we have discussed, Amir and Imad have only one advantage with them, they are considerably young and called it a day after differences with the management. It would be interesting to see if they are ready to play under Babar Azam, whom they have been critical of in the past.
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