Ijaz Ahmed (cricketer, born 1968)

Last updated

Ijaz Ahmed
Ijaz Ahmed (cricketer, born 1968).jpg
Ahmed in 2013
Personal information
Full name
Ijaz Ahmed
Born (1968-09-20) 20 September 1968 (age 57)
Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm) [1]
BattingRight-handed
BowlingLeft-arm medium
Role Batsman
Relations Saleem Malik (brother-in-law) [2]
International information
National side
Test debut(cap  107)3 February 1987 v  India
Last Test27 March 2001 v  New Zealand
ODI debut(cap  60)14 November 1986 v  West Indies
Last ODI11 October 2000 v  New Zealand
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
Men's Cricket
Representing Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan
ICC Cricket World Cup
Winner 1992 Australia and New Zealand
Runner-up 1999 England-Wales
-Ireland-Scotland-Netherlands
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 4 February 2006

Ijaz Ahmed (Urdu: اعجاز احمد) (born 20 September 1968) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played 60 Test matches and 250 One Day Internationals for Pakistan from 1986 to 2001. He was a part of the Pakistani squad which won the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

Contents

Personal life

Born in Sialkot, his family roots lie in the city of Jalandhar (now in Punjab, India) where some of his cousins still live. [3]

He is a brother-in-law of former Pakistan international cricketer and captain Saleem Malik. [2]

Cricket career

Ahmed scored six Test centuries against the world's top-ranked side, Australia – a record number of centuries by a Pakistani against Australia, shared with Javed Miandad. However, 33 of his 92 innings yielded single-figure scores, 54 of them yielded scores below 20.

Ijaz Ahmed came into the national side at the height of the Imran Khan era, and remained on the fringes for nearly a decade, despite several good scores. Dropped after the 1992 World Cup, he came back strongly the following season and established himself at the pivotal "one down" position. He performed poorly at the 1999 World Cup, and the arrival of Younis Khan brought an end to his international career. He formally retired from cricket in 2003. [4]

Ahmed's 250 matches is the seventh-highest of all time in Pakistan, behind Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram, Saleem Malik, Younis Khan, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Malik.

A powerful hitter of the ball, Ahmed became the second Pakistani batsman to score 10 ODI centuries. At Lahore, in 1997, Ahmed collapsed the Indian bowling attack by making a quick century off just 68 balls including 9 sixes, remaining not out for 139*; his highest ODI score.

In Test cricket, Ahmed scored 12 Test centuries, including his first and only double century against Sri Lanka, when he scored 211. Ahmed is the top scorer for Pakistan side against South Africa.

On 21 April 1997, in a Test match against Sri Lanka, Ahmed was at the crease on 97, when a run-out attempt brought ambiguity in the decision. However, replays declared Salim Malik as dismissed, and Ahmad was called back to the crease. This was the first time for a batsman to return from the pavilion to the crease since 1987. [5]

International centuries

Ijaz Ahmed made 22 centuries in international cricket – 12 in Test cricket and 10 in One Day Internationals. He scored his first Test century against Australia at Faisalabad in September 1988, scoring 122. [6] He scored his final Test century, also against Australia at the Perth on in November 1999, [7] scoring 115. His highest Test score is 211, scored against Sri Lanka at Dhaka in 1999. [8]

He scored his first ODI century against Bangladesh at Chittagong, scoring 124*. [9] He scored his final ODI century against England at Sharjah in 1999, [10] scoring 137. His highest ODI score of 139 not out came against India in 1997 at Lahore. [11]

Test centuries [12]
No.ScoreAgainstPos.Inn.TestVenueH/A/NDateResultRef
1Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 612/3 Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Home23 September 1988Drawn [6]
2Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 541/3 Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Away12 January 1990Lost [13]
3Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 313/3 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Away30 November 1995Won [14]
4Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 331/1 Lancaster Park, Christchurch Away8 December 1995Won [15]
5Flag of England.svg  England 312/3 Headingley, Leeds Away8 August 1996Drawn [16]
6Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 322/2 Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi Home28 November 1996Won [17]
7Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 321/2 R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Away19 April 1997Drawn [18]
8WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 223/3 National Stadium, Karachi Home6 December 1997Won [19]
9Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 322/3 Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar Home15 October 1998Drawn [20]
10Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 343/3 National Stadium, Karachi Home22 October 1998Drawn [21]
11Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 32 Final Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka Neutral12 March 1999Won [8]
12Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 333/3 WACA Ground, Perth Away26 November 1999Lost [7]
ODI centuries [22]
No.ScoreAgainstPos.Inn.SRVenueH/A/NDateResultRef
1Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 41142.52 M. A. Aziz Stadium, Chittagong Away29 October 1988Won [9]
2Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 32102.00 The Gabba, Brisbane Neutral10 February 1990Won [23]
3Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 51100.00 Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi Home20 October 1994Won [24]
4Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 32126.66 Kingsmead, Durban Away17 December 1994Won [25]
5Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe 31111.42 Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar Home3 November 1996Won [26]
6Flag of India.svg  India 12165.47 Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Home2 October 1997Won [11]
7Flag of India.svg  India 41104.46 Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka Neutral18 January 1998Lost [27]
8Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 31101.83 Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Home10 November 1998Lost [28]
9Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe 31128.15 Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi Home24 November 1998Won [29]
10Flag of England.svg  England 31105.38 Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Neutral7 April 1999Won [10]

Coaching career

In 2011, the PCB named Ijaz, then a fielding coach, as the national side's batting consultant for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. [30] He was later appointed assistant coach of the national team before the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe on request of team management. [31]

Ahmed was appointed as the coach of Pakistan's Under-19 cricket team on 20 October 2019. [32]

He has been the head coach for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League. [33]

Controversies

Fraud case

In 2009, he was jailed for fake issuance of bank cheques. [2] [34] He was remanded for six weeks in jail and later received a bail. [35] [36] In 2012, a local court charged him with forgery. [37]

Racism against Pashtuns

Ijaz Ahmed was heavily criticized by a large number of former cricket players, and journalists after he made racist remarks about the number of Pashtun players in the Pakistan cricket team, calling them illiterate and accusing them of not being able to handle pressure because of their upbringing on a talk show in ARY channel. [38] [39]

References

  1. ↑ "Wisden Cricket News (2 July 2001)". ESPNcricinfo . 2 July 2001. Archived from the original on 22 September 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Cricketing Dynasties: The Twenty Two Families of Pakistan's Test Cricket – Part 5 | Sports | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk.
  3. ↑ Inzamam-ul-Haq, 28 May 1997, Outlook India . Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. "Teammate Ijaz Ahmed nods along. Contrary to media reports, he too could not meet cousins in Jalandhar for the same reason."
  4. ↑ Bhalerao, Sarang (20 September 2013). "Ijaz Ahmed: One of the cleanest strikers of the ball and mainstay of Pakistan's ODI batting line-up". Cricket Country. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  5. ↑ Ijaz Ahmed in 1987 Cricket World Cup. Retrieved on 31-12-2011 Archived 24 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 "2nd Test, Australia tour of Pakistan at Faisalabad, Sep 23-28 1988". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  7. 1 2 "3rd Test, Pakistan tour of Australia at Perth, Nov 26-28 1999". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Final, Asian Test Championship at Dhaka, Mar 12-15 1999". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  9. 1 2 "4th Match, Wills Asia Cup at Chittagong, Oct 29 1988". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  10. 1 2 "1st Match (D/N), Coca-Cola Cup at Sharjah, Apr 7 1999". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  11. 1 2 "3rd ODI (D/N), India tour of Pakistan at Lahore, Oct 2 1997". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  12. ↑ "Statistics / Statsguru / Ijaz Ahmed / Test matches / Hundreds". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  13. ↑ "1st Test, Pakistan tour of Australia at Melbourne, Jan 12-16 1990". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  14. ↑ "3rd Test, Pakistan tour of Australia at Sydney, Nov 30 - Dec 4 1995". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  15. ↑ "Only Test, Pakistan tour of New Zealand at Christchurch, Dec 8-12 1995". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  16. ↑ "2nd Test, Pakistan tour of England and Scotland at Leeds, Aug 8-12 1996". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  17. ↑ "2nd Test, New Zealand tour of Pakistan at Rawalpindi, Nov 28 - Dec 1 1996". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  18. ↑ "1st Test, Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka at Colombo, Apr 19-23 1997". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  19. ↑ "3rd Test, West Indies tour of Pakistan at Karachi, Dec 6-9 1997". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  20. ↑ "2nd Test, Australia tour of Pakistan at Peshawar, Oct 15-19 1998". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  21. ↑ "3rd Test, Australia tour of Pakistan at Karachi, Oct 22-26 1998". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  22. ↑ "Statistics / Statsguru / Ijaz Ahmed / One-Day Internationals / Hundreds". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  23. ↑ "6th Match, Benson & Hedges World Series at Brisbane, Feb 10 1990". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  24. ↑ "5th Match, Wills Triangular Series at Rawalpindi, Oct 20 1994". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  25. ↑ "9th Match, Mandela Trophy at Durban, Dec 17 1994". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  26. ↑ "3rd ODI, Zimbabwe tour of Pakistan at Peshawar, Nov 3 1996". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  27. ↑ "3rd Final, Silver Jubilee Independence Cup at Dhaka, Jan 18 1998". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  28. ↑ "3rd ODI, Australia tour of Pakistan at Lahore, Nov 10 1998". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  29. ↑ "3rd ODI, Zimbabwe tour of Pakistan at Rawalpindi, Nov 24 1998". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  30. ↑ "Ijaz Ahmed named Pakistan's batting consultant for Zimbabwe tour". Yahoo News. 12 August 2011.
  31. ↑ "PCB appoints Ijaz Ahmed as assistant coach". The Express Tribune. 18 August 2011.
  32. ↑ Ijaz Ahmed – U-19 Coach.Retrieved on 31-12-2011 Archived 23 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ↑ "Mudassar, Aaqib take up roles at Lahore Qalandars". Dawn . 27 April 2016.
  34. ↑ "Ex-cricketer Ijaz Ahmed arrested in Rs.10-million scam". DAWN.COM. 26 March 2009.
  35. ↑ "Court charges ex-Pakistan Test cricketer Ijaz Ahmed | Cricket News". NDTVSports.com.
  36. ↑ "Former Pakistan batsman Ijaz bailed in fraud case". 19 May 2009 – via www.reuters.com.
  37. ↑ "Ijaz Ahmed charged in forgery case". ESPNcricinfo.
  38. ↑ "TimesNow Article".
  39. ↑ "MMNews Article".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.