Aslam Khan (Urdu: اسلم خان), sometimes known as Prince Aslam Khan (Urdu: شہزادہ اسلم خان, romanized as: Shehzada Aslam Khaan; 15 March 1935 – 29 April 1980) was a Pakistani cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1955 and 1978. Some people consider him the inventor of the doosra.[1]
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mohammad Aslam Khan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 March 1935 Manavadar, Princely state of Junagadh, British India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 29 April 1980 (aged 45) Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Slow left-arm orthodox | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Ghulam Moinuddin Khanji (father) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1955/56–1970/71 | Karachi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977/78 | Pakistan Security Printing Corporation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 29 August 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A son of Ghulam Moinuddin Khanji, he was a member of the royal family of Manavadar, a princely state which is now part of the Indian state of Gujarat.
Aslam Khan was a left-arm spinner. In the final of the Ayub Trophy in 1964-65 he took 6 for 45 and 5 for 92 (match figures of 81.5–43–137–11) to help Karachi to an innings victory over Lahore Education Board.[2] In a semi-final of the Ayub Trophy in 1965–66, playing for Karachi Blues against Public Works Department, he took 3 for 35 and 5 for 41 in another victory.[3]
Khan played his last first-class match in February 1978 for the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation team in the Patron's Trophy. A month short of his 43rd birthday, he took 6 for 154 off 47 eight-ball overs against Sargodha, who won by an innings and 143 runs.[4]
He batted at number 10 or 11 and only once reached 40 in first-class cricket. On that occasion he scored 112 not out as Karachi Whites scored 762 and beat Karachi Blues by an innings in a semi-final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in 1956–57. He also took three catches and three wickets in the match.[5]
Khan was a flamboyant character, "playing practical jokes, dating a series of movie stars, driving to matches (often late) in a Cadillac, firing revolver shots in the air in protest at an umpire's decision". Mushtaq Mohammad credited him with the invention of the doosra.[6]
His father, the last Nawab of Manavadar, also played first-class cricket and represented India at hockey.
References
edit- ^ "The prince of Pakistans cricket". 9 October 2017.
- ^ "Lahore Education Board v Karachi 1964-65". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ "Karachi Blues v Public Works Department 1965-66". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ "Sargodha v Pakistan Security Printing Corporation 1977-78". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ "Karachi Blues v Karachi Whites 1956-57". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ Peter Oborne, Wounded Tiger: The History of Cricket in Pakistan, Simon & Schuster, London, 2014, p. 139.