Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Runs
- 44,825
"I think Saeed Anwar is the best ODI player that Pakistan has ever produced" : Inzamam-ul-Haq
Inzamam-ul-Haq speaking about Saeed Anwar on his YouTube channel:
"Saeed Anwar's batting was such that we wished to play like him.
"The shots that we'd dream of at night, he would play them in the morning.
"Out of all the Pakistani batsmen, people say I had a lot of talent and I didn't perform according to my talent, but I believe that the talent that Saeed Anwar had, no one else had.
"When he was batting, it looked like cricket was very easy. The ball didn't seem to be seaming or swinging. When I batted alongside him, I enjoyed it a lot. He would put the bowler under pressure, making it easier for the others.
"I don't think there has ever been a similar wristy player in Pakistan.
"I think Saeed Anwar is the best ODI player that Pakistan has ever produced.
"When you create an ODI XI, he will easily fit it. He started hard hitting in Pakistan.
"Saeed bhai was the most nervous person in the dressing room but when he went into the ground, it was the bowlers who became nervous. He completely changed when he went out onto the pitch.
"I don't think Pakistan has produced as good a player as him since for ODI cricket.
"I played with many greats like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Javed bhai. All these players are witty and under pressure, they joke around and release pressure from others. Saeed bhai was ahead of all the rest. Now he has a beard and he's a pious man, may Allah bless him but he was the most witty. He would call the players' room, changing his voice, calling players somewhere. That happened with me many times.
"In Faisalabad, we lost a Test to SA and he was captain. Haroon Rasheed was the manager. In those days, mobiles had just come out so Haroon bhai and Saeed bhai had new phones. In that time, it wouldn't show caller IDs. Our chairman was Zulfiqar Bukhari. I was sitting with Saeed bhai, he called Haroon Rasheed and (pretended he was the Chairman and) told him "What are these senior players doing, kick them all out, they don't score." Haroon bhai said he was thinking the same. Saeed bhai put the phone off and asked Haroon bhai, what are you saying to the chairman? Haroon bhai was ashamed and said it was Chairman so I humoured him.
"Once, Mushtaq and I had to get passports made. A guy had to come and take us for that. He (Saeed bhai) called us at 5 AM and told us to come down immediately, telling us we have to come down to get our passports done. We looked for him in the whole lobby and couldn't find him. Then we got another call saying that he was near the coffee shop. We looked for him everywhere but couldn't find him. Then we came back and saw Saeed bhai.
"He was a great friend too. If anyone needed help, he would help others.
"Saeed bhai didn't believe in coaching. I won't take names but whenever coaches tried to change anything in Saeed bhai, he would reject it. He had such self-confidence and belief, I'm not saying the coaches were wrong, but he focused on his natural game.
"These coaching aspects, like your head is here, your shoulder is there, I don't believe in these things that much either.
"When he went towards deen, he had gotten a huge setback when his daughter Bismah passed away. We were playing in Multan. He got married in a place close to us. We had a lot of attachments. When we played Bangladesh in Multan and went to Lahore, then we got the news. It was Allah's will.
"This changed Saeed bhai's life. He had just one daughter and she didn't remain. It changed his life. When Allah takes something, he gives a lot. He gave such deen to him and changed his life.
"The life that Saeed bhai spends now, he used to be a totally different man. He used to have music systems worth lacs of rupees. Allah changed him completely. He gave him children and also changed his life. He is very satisfied with life. You see us still speaking and doing stuff related to cricket. He is totally dedicated to what he's doing and he's become the source of guidance for so many people. I pray that Allah also helps others to become like him.
"One of his qualities was that taking a single was effortless for him. Many people struggle with this nowadays, but had no difficulty. Sometimes I feel that he should come into the grounds and transfer his art to other people, the way he plays, rotates strike. But then I look at the work he is doing and how he is teaching people something even more beneficial, and I think that's even more important. If he wasn't doing this, I'd say he was being unfair with others but I think that what he is doing right now is much more important than cricket."
Inzamam-ul-Haq speaking about Saeed Anwar on his YouTube channel:
"Saeed Anwar's batting was such that we wished to play like him.
"The shots that we'd dream of at night, he would play them in the morning.
"Out of all the Pakistani batsmen, people say I had a lot of talent and I didn't perform according to my talent, but I believe that the talent that Saeed Anwar had, no one else had.
"When he was batting, it looked like cricket was very easy. The ball didn't seem to be seaming or swinging. When I batted alongside him, I enjoyed it a lot. He would put the bowler under pressure, making it easier for the others.
"I don't think there has ever been a similar wristy player in Pakistan.
"I think Saeed Anwar is the best ODI player that Pakistan has ever produced.
"When you create an ODI XI, he will easily fit it. He started hard hitting in Pakistan.
"Saeed bhai was the most nervous person in the dressing room but when he went into the ground, it was the bowlers who became nervous. He completely changed when he went out onto the pitch.
"I don't think Pakistan has produced as good a player as him since for ODI cricket.
"I played with many greats like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Javed bhai. All these players are witty and under pressure, they joke around and release pressure from others. Saeed bhai was ahead of all the rest. Now he has a beard and he's a pious man, may Allah bless him but he was the most witty. He would call the players' room, changing his voice, calling players somewhere. That happened with me many times.
"In Faisalabad, we lost a Test to SA and he was captain. Haroon Rasheed was the manager. In those days, mobiles had just come out so Haroon bhai and Saeed bhai had new phones. In that time, it wouldn't show caller IDs. Our chairman was Zulfiqar Bukhari. I was sitting with Saeed bhai, he called Haroon Rasheed and (pretended he was the Chairman and) told him "What are these senior players doing, kick them all out, they don't score." Haroon bhai said he was thinking the same. Saeed bhai put the phone off and asked Haroon bhai, what are you saying to the chairman? Haroon bhai was ashamed and said it was Chairman so I humoured him.
"Once, Mushtaq and I had to get passports made. A guy had to come and take us for that. He (Saeed bhai) called us at 5 AM and told us to come down immediately, telling us we have to come down to get our passports done. We looked for him in the whole lobby and couldn't find him. Then we got another call saying that he was near the coffee shop. We looked for him everywhere but couldn't find him. Then we came back and saw Saeed bhai.
"He was a great friend too. If anyone needed help, he would help others.
"Saeed bhai didn't believe in coaching. I won't take names but whenever coaches tried to change anything in Saeed bhai, he would reject it. He had such self-confidence and belief, I'm not saying the coaches were wrong, but he focused on his natural game.
"These coaching aspects, like your head is here, your shoulder is there, I don't believe in these things that much either.
"When he went towards deen, he had gotten a huge setback when his daughter Bismah passed away. We were playing in Multan. He got married in a place close to us. We had a lot of attachments. When we played Bangladesh in Multan and went to Lahore, then we got the news. It was Allah's will.
"This changed Saeed bhai's life. He had just one daughter and she didn't remain. It changed his life. When Allah takes something, he gives a lot. He gave such deen to him and changed his life.
"The life that Saeed bhai spends now, he used to be a totally different man. He used to have music systems worth lacs of rupees. Allah changed him completely. He gave him children and also changed his life. He is very satisfied with life. You see us still speaking and doing stuff related to cricket. He is totally dedicated to what he's doing and he's become the source of guidance for so many people. I pray that Allah also helps others to become like him.
"One of his qualities was that taking a single was effortless for him. Many people struggle with this nowadays, but had no difficulty. Sometimes I feel that he should come into the grounds and transfer his art to other people, the way he plays, rotates strike. But then I look at the work he is doing and how he is teaching people something even more beneficial, and I think that's even more important. If he wasn't doing this, I'd say he was being unfair with others but I think that what he is doing right now is much more important than cricket."