For someone who experienced the horrors of the 1947 Partition riots in India at the age of 10, Qamar Ahmed carried a lifelong warmth that endeared him to all who crossed his path.
Having witnessed the brutality of mob violence in Bihar and also the kindness of the human heart in the time of crisis, Ahmed’s perspective on life remained nuanced until his final days.
A revered voice in cricket journalism, Ahmed passed away at the age of 88 in Karachi last week, leaving behind an unmatched legacy as a storyteller.
Ahmed also counted several legends of cricket — Zaheer Abbas, Sunil Gavaskar, Javed Miandad, Imran Khan and Viv Richards — among his friends.
“Very saddened to hear of the passing of the generous and large-hearted Qamar Ahmad or Q, as we inevitably called him. He helped me a lot on my first tour of England in 1990 where I was a wide-eyed novice on most matters,” wrote celebrated Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle in a moving tribute on X.
Ahmed was always ready to help anyone, including this reporter, at the media centres.
On my first foreign cricket tour as a Delhi-based journalist in 2004, Ahmed made me feel at home when I was introduced to him at the press box in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
One year later, when he came over to India for a Test series, I deliberately took the seat next to him in Mohali as he recalled how their Hindu neighbours in Bihar sheltered them amid the violence in 1947.
Ahmed carried that sense of gratitude throughout his life even as his family moved to Pakistan, where he became a first-class cricketer.
A talented left-arm spinner and a capable lower-order batsman, Ahmed made history of his own, dismissing all five brothers of Pakistan’s famous Mohammed family, including the legendary Hanif Mohammed.
But it was his work as a cricket writer and broadcaster after he moved to the UK to work for the BBC that really cemented his legacy in the game.
Ahmed covered more than 400 Test matches across the world and reported on Pakistan’s historic 1992 ODI World Cup triumph in Melbourne.
He was also at the ground in Ahmedabad on March 7 in 1987 when his good friend Gavaskar became the first batsman in history to reach 10,000 runs in Test cricket.
While the exploits of the “Two Ws” — Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis — filled him with pride as a Pakistani, it was his objectivity as a journalist that truly stood out.
Among the journalists who were inspired by Ahmed’s word is Shahid Hashmi.
“He was a teacher, guide, role model and great company to generations of journalists, and with his kindness and support he helped all, irrespective of nationality, religion or background,” Hashmi told the Khaleej Times.
Cricket journalism, according to former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, would never be the same again after Ahmed’s passing.
“From the time I became a cricketer, Qamar bhai was always there for all of us. He was a wonderful human being,” Latif told the Khaleej Times.
“He worked alongside some of the greats of cricket journalism in England and Australia. He was friends with all the great cricketers; even with us, he was always very kind. This is a big loss for global cricket media.”
Ahmed, whose book, Far More Than a Game: An Autobiography of a Cricket Writer and Broadcaster, traces his journey from dusty lanes of Bihar to the hallowed Lord’s cricket ground in London, overcame every obstacle to reach the top.
“Qamar Ahmed was a larger-than-life personality; he was one of the best storytellers,” said renowned Pakistani cricket commentator Nauman Niaz.
“He had Pakistan in his heart. There were countless details in Pakistan cricket that never saw the light of day, and he was privy to all of them. He was his own man; the BBC kept offering him a job, but until the day he passed away at 88, he remained a freelancer.
“He was a very good first-class cricketer, an orthodox left-arm spinner who was a capable right-handed batter, picked six wickets in a game and then left the sport and went to England. He struggled initially, faced a bit of racism as well, but he showed great resolve. And eventually, he became a highly respected cricket commentator and writer. He is an icon, and with his death, 70 years of Pakistan cricket have gone down to the grave.”
My last interaction with Ahmed was in April this year on the 40th anniversary of Javed Miandad’s last-ball six against India in Sharjah.
He lamented that he was not on the ground to witness the Miandad masterclass in Sharjah where the feisty batsman almost single-handedly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for Pakistan — barely months before Diego Maradona became a global phenomenon for magically turning a team sport like football into a one-man show.
Ahmed may not have been in Sharjah, but he was at Wembley in 1966 as a spectator to witness England’s only World Cup triumph when the Three Lions beat West Germany 4-2 in the final.
Cricket remained his first love, but Wembley 1966 always brought a smile to his face.
Source: Khaleej Times