KARACHI: Former first-class cricketer and legendary broadcaster Qamar Ahmed passed away in Karachi at the age of 88.
Born in Mughal Serai, Ahmed was regarded as one of Pakistan’s renowned cricket journalists and broadcasters. He began his journalism career in London after ending a promising first-class cricket career in Pakistan in the 1950s.
A left-arm spinner, he claimed 36 wickets in 17 first-class matches while pushing for a Pakistan call-up, notably for the 1957-58 tour of the Caribbean. However, being based in Hyderabad meant he remained outside the radar of selectors, who at the time focused largely on the urban centers of Lahore and Karachi.
Despite this, he holds the rare record of having dismissed all the Mohammad brothers, including Hanif, Sadiq, and Mushtaq.
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During a journalism and broadcasting career spanning seven decades, he traveled around the globe to cover international matches and worked for renowned news outlets.
He also worked as a broadcaster for various TV channels and radio stations, including TVNZ during the 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which Pakistan won. Notably, he covered every World Cup until the 2007 edition in West Indies.
After that, he stopped covering ODIs and focused on Test cricket. He reached the landmark of covering his 400th match as a journalist during the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Test in Sharjah in 2014.
Qamar Ahmed had the unique distinction of witnessing landmark moments in cricket history, including Sunil Gavaskar’s 10,000th run, Richard Hadlee’s 400th wicket, Anil Kumble’s 10-wicket haul in an innings, and the 1000th and 2000th Test matches in 2011.
