LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has expressed grief and sorrow over the death of former Test cricketer Haseeb Ahsan.
Former Pakistan off-spinner Haseeb Ahsan, who played 12 Test matches between 1958 and 1962, died in Karachi on March 8, 2013, after a prolonged illness. He was 73.
Ahsan made his Test debut at Bridgetown on Pakistan’s first tour of the West Indies in 1958. That was the match in which his friend Hanif Mohammad scored 337. He took 27 wickets in his Test career, with best figures of 6 for 202 against India in 1960-61.
After his playing days, he became one of Pakistan cricket’s most influential administrators. As chief selector, he is credited with picking Wasim Akram for the first time in 1984. He also headed the organising committee for the 1987 World Cup and managed Pakistan’s 1987 tour of England, when Pakistan won a Test series in England for the first time.
The chief minister extended his sincere condolences to the grieving family members in a message.
He expressed his profound sorrow and prayed to Allah Almighty to provide the bereaved family with the strength to bear their loss with composure, while also asking for the departed soul to rest in peace.