Abdul Qadir

It just took two years of first class cricket for a young Abdul Qadir to announce his arrival into international cricket, as he made his Test debut in 1977 against England. When the world was witnessing the emergence of fast pace bowling, Abdul Qadir rekindled a dying art called leg-spin bowling.

Marking a distinct run-up, Abdul Qadir was a master of the leg-spin delivery. He had an enormous variety of deliveries up his armour. Qadir mastered the googlies, the flippers, the leg-breaks and the topspins that were almost dormant at the time in the game of cricket. A 6-wicket haul in his comeback match at Lord's in 1982, guided Pakistan to register a historic win against England. Such was Qadir’s prolificacy, he set a record for being the first bowler to claim 100 Test wickets in a Pakistani season.

In an era when the Pakistan era boasted of some fiery quicks, Qadir won Pakistan many matches, and in fact became the first Pakistan bowler to take 200 wickets in Test cricket.

Legend will have this to say – In a tour match against the visiting Indians, Qadir was hoisted into the stands for four massive sixes by a relatively unknown 17-year old called Sachin Tendulkar.

Known to be a rebel and manhandle the authority, Abdul Qadir's top-notch cricketing skills, will be inspirational for many a legspinners to come.