Written by: Muhammad Suhayb
Posted on: February 10, 2021 | 
Muhammad Rizwan in the Match Against South Africa
In the last few days, Pakistan beat South Africa long after the 2003 series at Gaddafi Stadium, where Pakistan won a series of 2 test matches by winning the Lahore test. The star of the series was speedster Hassan Ali and Muhammad Rizwan, the man behind the stumps who can be termed as the new man of crisis. His grit and determination from both sides of the stumps, secured victory in the second test against South Africa. Always coming out to bat when the team is in crisis, he stands out and drives the team to safety.
Pakistan has been lucky to have the services of some of the best wicket keepers in history, who have worn out their gloves and kneepads to ensure victory. They had Imtiaz Ahmed guarding the stumps for over a decade, then the baton was passed to Wasim Bari, after whom Salim Yousuf, Moin Khan and Rashid Latif made the job look simple. Kamran Akmal’s heroics with the bat are still remembered, but his mediocre wicket keeping overshadows those marvelous innings. Meanwhile wicket keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed’s 2014/15 season was the only time he excelled as a batsman.
Wasim Bari
Imtiaz Ahmed, the member of the inaugural team which toured India in 1952/53, was never the first choice for ‘keeper’. It was when Hanif Muhammad was seen struggling behind the stumps, and Imtiaz Ahmed was asked to replace him. A capable batsman as well, Imtiaz scored three centuries in the 38 tests he played as a wicket-keeper, and helped win the first test series for his country. When New Zealand visited Pakistan for three test matches in late 1955, Imtiaz scored 64 in Pakistan’s only innings in the first test at Karachi, and made his highest test score (209) on his home ground in Lahore. He added 308 runs for the seventh wicket with Waqar Hasan, and batted for over six hours for a score which became the highest made by any wicket keeper till 1980. He scored his next hundred during the test match in which the great West Indian player Gary Sobers scored 365 runs, while his last score of over three figures came against India at Chennai in 1960/61.
Waqar Hasan (left) and Imtiaz Ahmed (right)
The next successful wicket keeper from Pakistan was Karachi’s Taslim Arif. Blasting 90 innings at his test debut against India in Calcutta, he made headlines when he not only broke Imtiaz Ahmed’s record of 209 runs, but also the the bowling attack of the visiting Australian team by scoring 210 not out on a dead wicket at Faisalabad in 1980.
Taslim Arif
However, no wicket keeper batsman from Pakistan scored a hundred until 1994. The only time a regular keeper came close to scoring one was, when Karachi-born Saleem Yousuf scored 91 in the fourth test against England at Birmingham in 1987. Fast bowler Mohsin Kamal got a run out for ten, and Saleem missed his maiden hundred by 9 runs. Mohsin Kamal was dropped after this test and made a brief return after seven years.
Moin Khan
Moin Khan scored three more centuries for Pakistan, and his next two came in the next couple of years. He scored 117 not out in Sialkot Test against Sri Lanka in a do or die situation. Needing 357 to win, Pakistan could only manage 212. Other than 117 from Moin, the only other double figure score came from Basit Ali, who managed 27. Despite ending on the losing side, Moin Khan was named Man of the Series. It was his 2nd hundred in 16 tests, yet he was dropped for the World Cup after poor showing behind stumps in Australia.
Rashid Latif
Rashid Latif was recalled and until his injury in July 1996, Moin had no chance for a comeback. A completely different wicket-keeper, he managed to play next test at Leeds in Aug 1996, and due to his 105, Pakistan managed a huge score in the first innings against England. It also kept Rashid Latif out from the test team for 20 months. Rashid on the other hand, managed one century in his career against West Indies in January 2002 in a home test played in Sharjah. Moin’s last century came in December 2003 against New Zealand, in the first test at Hamilton.
Kamran Akmal
The recent crop of wicket-keepers, Kamran Akmal and Sarfaraz Ahmed were definitely better batsmen than their predecessors, as Kamran Akmal’s six and Sarfaraz Ahmed’s three centuries came when they were needed most. Kamran’s innings of 109 at Mohali in 2005 and 119 in Calcutta two years later, brought stability to a test which surely would have ended in India’s favour. He was one of the four centurions in the first test against India at Lahore in 2006, and due to his 113 in Karachi during the third test of the same series, Pakistan won a test which began with three wickets off the first deliveries by Indian pacer Irfan Pathan. All of Sarfaraz’s centuries were scored in 2014, one in a losing cause, one in a drawn game and one in a victory. The golden period of his career stretched to the World Cup 2015, where he scored his first of the two ODI hundreds.
Sarfraz Ahmed
Current Pakistan wicket keeper Rizwan has so far scored two ODI hundreds, that too against Australia in matches which were lost, but both were scored at No. 4 position, which is better than his usual position. He has been scoring at an average of 50 since July 2020, and his recent century against South Africa is a proof of it. It is important to note that, although more prolific, Hanif Muhammad and Abdul Kadir missed hundreds as wicket-keepers. Hanif was out for 96 in the third test in Bombay on the country’s inaugural tour, and debutant Abdul Kadir was run out for 95 on the first day of the only test against the Australians in Karachi in 1964/65.
In all, a wicket-keeper is the most important member of the team, keeping watch on the ball and the chance to get out the opposing batsman. But when they take up the mantle of wicket keeping alongside exceptional batting skills, they can emerge as true leaders who either make or break a game.
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