Maqsood Ahmed

Maqsood Ahmed (March 26, 1925, Amritsar, India – January 4, 1999, Rawalpindi, Punjab) was a Pakistani cricketer who played in 16 Tests from 1952 to 1955. He was educated at Islamia College, Lahore.

Maqsood Ahmed was a useful all rounder in the first ever cricket team of Pakistan. Before the creation of Pakistan, he played for Southern Punjab in India. He scored a century in his very first match. An aggressive hitter of the ball, Maqsood played a vital role in the recognition of Pakistan as test playing nation when he remained unbeaten on 137 against the visiting MCC.

Maqsood was a hard hitter of the ball and is one of the cricketers who got out on 99 runs. Though a brilliant batsman, his performance in test matches was rather irregular because of his carefree attitude. He has the distinction of being the first ever Pakistani to play as a professional cricketer in England 1952. The English press dubbed him Merry Max. As a test player he only played 16 matches scoring a total of 507 runs. He was also a right arm medium fast bowler with 3 wickets in test matches to his credit. His first-class record is better with 3815 runs in 85 matches including 6 centuries. He took 124 wickets with 7 for 39 being his best bowling figures. He captained the Karachi Blues cricket team and the Rawalpindi 11 in the Quaid-e-Azam Cricket trophy.

After retiring from cricket, Maqsood Ahmed worked as not only a commentator and sports journalist for PTV, BBC and Radio Pakistan but also had the distinction of being the Chief National Cricket Coach and coached many distinguished Pakistani cricket stars including Intikhab Alam, Asif Iqbal, Mushtaq Mohammad, Sadiq Mohammad, Majid Khan etc.

Right after the independence to the time of his death on 4 January 1999 he was associated with the game of cricket and dedicated all his life and abilities for the promotion and projection of Pakistan Cricket. In recognition of his meritorious services to Pakistan Cricket one of the gates of the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium carries his name, “Maqsood Ahmed Enclosure” and so does one of the benches at the Bagh-e-Jinnah Cricket Ground located inside the historic Lahore GymKhana. He was the Chairman of the National Selection Committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board which selected the World Cup winning team in 1991-92. Maqsood Ahmed died on 4 January 1999 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

• Maqsood Ahmed

• Maqsood Ahmed

• Pakistan Squad 1954