[PICTURES] My meeting with the legendary Saeed Anwar

[MenInG]

To say that I was in awe of this man when he was a cricketer would be an understatement.

I like many others around the time when his cricketing prowess was at it's zenith literally would worship the ground he walked on.

But the person I saw last evening at a gathering was obviously not the same.

With a flowing white beard and religion as the backdrop of this lecture, it was clear that this lecture was going to be about anything but cricket.

This was expected given the way he has changed his lifestyle and we understand the reasons for that.

But to my pleasant surprise, his lecture on religion was interlaced with bits and pieces from cricket such mentions of cricketers past and present.

Was good to see that he hasn't totally forgotten about the game!

Like many other events involving Pakistanis, the highlight of the evening was the free meal which ensued after the main speech by Saeed Anwar.

With the attendees attention not diverted to the naan and tikkas, this to me was the cue to approach the great man and see if I could get him to speak about cricket - even a few words would make my day.

Much to my delight, as I was introduced as a representative of one of the world's top cricket forums, Saeed Anwar stopped his conversation with a few others around him and stood up to greet me!

I knew there was hope now.

So I asked him a question about cricket - the answer to which we will put out on our YouTube channel later on.

But for now, here are some pictures of Saeed Anwar which I am sure you will enjoy.

 

[BouncerGuy]

He has changed very much since he left the cricketing field. Waiting for his insights about cricket in an upcoming interview. Even though I was just 2 years old when he played that mammoth inning of 194 against India. Watched the highlights and by far he is among the top 3 Left Handed batters produced by Pakistan ever. Nobody can match his class and aggression on the field.

Very good to see him again.​

 

[kingusama92]

Incredible batsman at his peak.

Not only one of the greatest Pakistani openers (if not the greatest), but he was also one of the most stylish batsmen Pakistan has produced.

 

[Savak]

He has not given any cricketing interviews after retirement in the last 20 years. He is not interested in the game at all anymore.

 

[MenInG]

He has not given any cricketing interviews after retirement in the last 20 years. He is not interested in the game at all anymore.

That was my impression until he spoke to me although he did say that he had not watched cricket for 20 years.

His lecture had lot of cricketing metaphors and also mentioned Babar and Rizwan, and Imran Khan

Will dig out bits later today.

 

[Sher Khan]

I was too young, when Saeed Anwar retired from the game. But I'd like to ask one question from members that saw him play.

Why did Saeed play such few tests(only 55) considering his test record was excellent with an average of 45? He played 146 FC matches so doesn't seem like he had fitness issues playing the longer format.

 

[MenInG]

I was too young, when Saeed Anwar retired from the game. But I'd like to ask one question from members that saw him play.

Why did Saeed play such few tests(only 55) considering his test record was excellent with an average of 45? He played 146 FC matches so doesn't seem like he had fitness issues playing the longer format.

For sure he had some sort of illness as well from what I recall.

 

[Ahmed216]

Still cherish his glorious stroke play through the off side.
Wish him the best in life

 

[Rana]

Amazing. Lovely man, lovely player

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Glimpses of former Pakistani opener in a meeting in Bahrain.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1732451691830616442

 

[BunnyRabbit]

I was too young, when Saeed Anwar retired from the game. But I'd like to ask one question from members that saw him play.

Why did Saeed play such few tests(only 55) considering his test record was excellent with an average of 45? He played 146 FC matches so doesn't seem like he had fitness issues playing the longer format.

Pak used to play a lot more ODIs than tests in 90-2000s.
Saeed didn't play any test if I am correct after the unfortunate passing of his daughter.

 

[Asad T]

Yes, and what I appreciate about him is that while former players tend to bash the current crop of players. He just stays silent.
Maybe it's because he actually has 0 interest in cricket, or maybe it's because he's a gentleman. I like to think it's because of the latter.

 

[sweep_shot]

A legend without a doubt.

His batting was pleasant to watch.

 

[160KPH]

One of my favorite batsmen ever. Some of those shots were just beautiful to watch.

 

[Champ_Pal]

He was the nightmare of Prasad and Kuruvilla.

 

[Statpadder Inc]

Pakistan's greatest odi batsman

 

[kron]

One of our best ever openers

 

[FearlessRoar]

One of the best opening batter Pakistan has ever produced.

 

[VForVendetta]

He has changed very much since he left the cricketing field. Waiting for his insights about cricket in an upcoming interview. Even though I was just 2 years old when he played that mammoth inning of 194 against India. Watched the highlights and by far he is among the top 3 Left Handed batters produced by Pakistan ever. Nobody can match his class and aggression on the field.

Very good to see him again.​

Who are the other 2? Imam & Taufiq Umar?

 

[VForVendetta]

Well the true odi goat of Pak.
Blind fangirls of overhyped overrated fake kings & con artists will never realize how special the guy truly was. One of those rare guys Pak cricket have never truly been able to replace or fill void(Wasim, Saqlain, Razzaq).

 

[the Great Khan]

I was too young, when Saeed Anwar retired from the game. But I'd like to ask one question from members that saw him play.

Why did Saeed play such few tests(only 55) considering his test record was excellent with an average of 45? He played 146 FC matches so doesn't seem like he had fitness issues playing the longer format.

We just didn't play enough tests and his debut against the windies was a flop so he got seen as a odi player until he started getting runs in tests. Some.thought he was too loose outside his offstump and not a test player.
I think he really came.to his own in tests in after about 93/94 i could be wrong.

His ODI credentials were outstanding.

But the death of his daughter changed him. There were rumours he was involved with fixing with Wasim and the crew at the time. Thus his conversion to the deen after the death of his daughter.

 

[Bilal7]

I also had the pleasure to meet him in a Masjid when he came to Toronto. A lovely man who changed for the better and made his Dunya and Akhirah.

 

[Saj]

One of my cricketing heroes.

A batter who was a joy to watch and had such style when at the crease.

Saeed's life changed after the death of his daughter. He lost the love for cricket and started to focus on religion and the whole direction of his life took a different direction.

Mohammad Yousuf spoke about him in an interview I did for Wisden and how seeing Saeed's lifestyle turned him towards Islam - "I wasn’t forced to convert to Islam as some have alleged and tried to suggest. The reality is that I was very close to Saeed Anwar. We were great friends on and off the field and had played a lot of cricket together in our teenage years. I spent so much time with Saeed that his parents regarded me as their own son. When I was at their house, I could see the sort of peaceful and disciplined life his parents led and that really intrigued me. I had observed Saeed Anwar’s life before he became religious and how that changed when Saeed had the personal tragedy of the death of his daughter. Saeed turning to religion was an inspiration and the turning point for me that lead to my conversion to Islam."

 

[Junaids]

I was too young, when Saeed Anwar retired from the game. But I'd like to ask one question from members that saw him play.

Why did Saeed play such few tests(only 55) considering his test record was excellent with an average of 45? He played 146 FC matches so doesn't seem like he had fitness issues playing the longer format.

I will tell you my version, but I have to pick my words carefully.

Saeed Anwar was a bit like Dave Warner in that he transformed himself from being a white ball slogger to a skilled Test batsman. But he was a much smarter, more highly educated man.

Unfortunately that 1993-1999 team - and most international teams at the time - was riddled with corruption. Even the likes of Inzamam and Saeed Anwar were found guilty of obstructing investigations into it and failing to report corruption.

Like in 2010, it was impossible to be unaware of what your team-mates were doing, even if you didn’t participate yourself. Nobody was clean.

It was impossible to fight that criminality. I would refer anybody to read Bob Woolmer’s penultimate email to his wife and compare it with his supposed final email to the Chair of the PCB, which he almost certainly wrote after he died.

Saeed Anwar, a good, honest man, tried to play international cricket in that environment which was controlled by fixers. The worst thing he did was the only thing he could do - just try to ignore it and stay clean, but not report it.

And, when his daughter died, he seemed to be overwhelmed with feelings of guilt, and he turned to religion and away from cricket.

Saeed Anwar was a good man, who was surrounded by fixing in his own team and every other team.

 

[ElRaja]

I was too young, when Saeed Anwar retired from the game. But I'd like to ask one question from members that saw him play.

Why did Saeed play such few tests(only 55) considering his test record was excellent with an average of 45? He played 146 FC matches so doesn't seem like he had fitness issues playing the longer format.

he got a pair on debut and was binned for a few years, his real test career was from 94 to 00, and pak play around 7 or 8 tests a year so that was how much he got to play, he was pretty much the first name on the teamsheet after 94 till his retirement, which at 33 was young by Pakistani standards.

however he was a touch player, his technique, whilst acceptable was not waterproof, he wafted outside the off stump compulsively, but at his peak it didnt matter because unless there was prodigious seam movement on offer, a la south Africa, his eye was good enough to deal with swing, and on batting tracks he was very difficult to bowl too.

had he continued into his late thirties there is no doubt given his playing style his numbers would have dipped, altho had he maybe had another good 15 or 20 tests in him.

i wont talk on the controversies, because its obvious hes tried to atone for what he felt he did wrong, and that matter is his personal life now given how much time has passed.

 

[Savak]

Wasim Akram mentioned in an interview that Saeed Anwar was all natural, he never took part in training sessions wholeheartedly and would completely switch off from the game outside hours. Maybe that explains why he never looked back after leaving the game.

 

[Firebat]

What a legend!!

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Cricketing world has never seen that much stylish left-handed player after Saeed Anwar.

What a gem of cricket he was!

 

[BouncerGuy]

Visions of Anwar inspire Khawaja before Pakistan Tests

Every cricketer has their heroes which is why Pakistan-born Usman Khawaja gets on a roll when he waxes lyrical about former opener Saeed Anwar.

The rubber wrists of Anwar caressed 4052 Test runs at an average of 45.52 for Pakistan in a manner that was aesthetically pleasing and effective.

Fellow left-handed opener Khawaja, 36, is preparing for Australia's three-Test series against Pakistan, a nation he has a Bradmanesque average of 99.20 against in eight Tests.

There was a hint of nostalgia in the air when he reminisced about Anwar - perhaps because Khawaja, with 5004 Test runs at 47.20, also likes to score big and entertain.

"I used to love watching Saeed Anwar bat. He was so good on the eye," Khawaja told AAP.

"He was very wristy. I am still wristy, but a different kind. Our scoring areas would be very similar. It is just the way he went about it. It was beautiful...so fluent to watch.

"Probably the biggest compliment I get from people is not about the hundreds I've scored but when they say, 'I love watching you bat'.

"I always gravitated towards the left-handers. Anwar, Brian Lara and Adam Gilchrist were the three...all flamboyant...all played with flair and they were all entertainers."

Khawaja has passed 50 nine times in his 13 innings against Pakistan in Test cricket, turning three of those knocks into centuries.

He said there was no change in his approach or desire when he played against the nation of his birth.

"All series are special for me whether it is Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies, India...it is Test cricket for your country. I just seem to play well against Pakistan but I go out and play the same way," Khawaja said.

"My dad (Tariq), he obviously grew up in Pakistan and supported Pakistan in cricket and would have been about 40 when we emigrated.

"I am sure for him there is a bit of nostalgia when I play Pakistan. There certainly was nostalgia when I was in Pakistan (in 2022) because growing up I used to hear my dad talk about going to watch cricket games in Karachi at the stadium.

"So me getting a Test hundred in Karachi (with an innings of 160), that was really special. That meant a lot. I love Australia, but I never forget where I came from.

"Some of my dad's heroes were Pakistani cricketers. He talks a lot about Javed Miandad, probably his favourite batsman, and Zaheer Abbas. Even growing up I watched a lot of Australia v Pakistan cricket because my family watched a lot of it...so guys like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis."

Australia are favourites to beat Pakistan but Khawaja is expecting a genuine contest in the three-Test series that starts in Perth on Thursday.

"It will be tough. People always want to discard Pakistan but that bowling attack is tough work," he said.

"Shaheen Shah Afridi is a world class bowler opening up. Then you have (medium-fast) Hasan Ali who has been a stalwart for them for a long time and is very skilful. (Allrounder) Faheem Ashraf is coming down here too and they have got a lot of spinners (including Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed)

"The biggest thing for Pakistan is whether their batting can hold up in our conditions.

"Perth will be bouncy but I think Melbourne and Sydney will suit Pakistan more, and particularly Sydney which is a bit slower and lower. That is what you want. You want a contest."

Khawaja has seven Tests, including two against West Indies at home and two away to New Zealand, coming up in the next three months. The competitive desire to keep playing Test cricket still burns in him for now.

"I feel like in my head if I looked for a finish line then the finish line wouldn't be too far ahead, but I don't want to think about the finish line. It is not in my psyche," he said.

"The only time it comes into my psyche is when people keep asking me. I get it. The reason they ask is because I am 36 turning 37 and a lot of people do retire then.

"For me, it is just about playing. I am fit and healthy. Mentally, I still want to compete. I always wondered whether my mental desire would finish. I am very different mentally with the way I play now, but I am still as competitive as I ever was.

"I want to score runs and I want to win cricket games. That hasn't changed."
​

SOURCE: CANBERRA TIMES

 

[gani999]

For sure he had some sort of illness as well from what I recall.

Did he not become very religious after his daughter died? He possibly took to religion for solace to overcome the trauma.

 

[MenInG]

Did he not become very religious after his daughter died? He possibly took to religion for solace to overcome the trauma.

Correct.

That tragedy did have an effect.

During his speech, he mentioned the pain of losing his daughter a few times and said that this is why he cannot bear to watch videos from Gaza as he almost starts to relive the pain.

 

[Officer Barbrady]

I was too young, when Saeed Anwar retired from the game. But I'd like to ask one question from members that saw him play.

Why did Saeed play such few tests(only 55) considering his test record was excellent with an average of 45? He played 146 FC matches so doesn't seem like he had fitness issues playing the longer format

Injuries early in his career had an impact (he missed the 92 World Cup as well). There was also the wrong impression that he should only play limited overs cricket because of his attacking style. He of course proved his critics wrong but didn’t get a proper run in the test side until he was already 25 (he had previously played one test match 4 years earlier before being dropped). That’s when he played a lot of FC cricket.

I remember reading that he would be so nervous on match day that he didn’t eat anything. Perhaps that contributed to his illnesses. I think he missed several months of cricket up to a year three times in the 90s.

He was 33 when he tragically lost his daughter and never played test cricket again.

Despite the limited opportunities he still played some of the most memorable test match tons overseas by a Pakistani batsman in England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and India. All worth rewatching via youtube highlights.

I believe if Anwar had played 100 tests he would have ended up the best Pakistani test batsman to date.