Saeed Anwar - A left-handed legend - 1989 – 2003 - Cricketer Profile

Saeed Anwar is one of Pakistan’s legendary batsmen, who is valued for his majestic timing and placement. The opener had the ability to give a flying start to a game, no matter what the format.

The shot through the offside with minimal footwork was one of his favourite drives. The left-handed batsman made his One-Day International debut in January 1989 against West Indies at Perth.

Batting in 244 ODIs, he scored 8824 runs at an average of 39.21, including 20 centuries and 43 fifties. His best batting performance was seen against India in Chennai, 1997, where he hit 194 runs, which was highest by a player in an ODI at that time.

He became the first Pakistani batsman to hit a century against India on their home soil in an ODI. Anwar had the ability to score big runs at great ease and superb timing.

For his outstanding performances, he was awarded the Wisden Cricketer of the Year award in 1997. He had been sharing the highest ODI score with Charles Coventry, till Sachin Tendulkar surpassed 200 runs in an ODI in 2010. He was also one of those batsmen who scored three consecutive centuries in limited overs cricket. His three centuries in a row, were seen against Sri Lanka, West Indies and Sri Lanka during 1993-94 Champions Trophy in Sharjah. He also became the first ODI batsman to hit two consecutive centuries on three occasions in his career.

Due to his excellent show in limited overs cricket, he soon joined the Test squad and made his debut on November 1990 against West Indies, at Faisalabad.

Batting in 55 Test matches, Anwar amassed 4052 runs at an average of 45.52, including 11 centuries and 25 fifties. His best Test performance also came against India, where he hit unbeaten 188 runs at Kolkata on February 1999.

He was the only Pakistani batsmen who had the highest Test (59.06) average against Australia and he also achieved the feat of hitting three consecutive centuries against the Aussies.

In the year 2001, he was hit by a tragedy when his daughter died after a persistent illness. The incident turned his life to another phase and there was seen a great change in him, when he completely turned to religion, adopting changes in his appearance as well as his personality.

Anwar then joined cricket after a long gap and proved to be the most consistent Pakistani batsmen in the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2003. He also grabbed the attention of his fans by hitting a century against arch-rivals India during the 2003 mega event.

In the same year, the left-hander called it a day, ahead of a home series against Bangladesh, after he was ignored for the ODI tournament in Sharjah. The former cricketer devoted the rest of his life preaching Islam across Pakistan while working with a religious group. Fielding was the only department of the game, where the Anwar was not proficient.

“[Anwar] used an eclectic approach to batting – classical betrothed to unorthodox, footwork against spin as quick as a hiccup, and wrists supple yet powerful to brush the field like a Picasso,” said another former Pakistani cricketer and commentator, Ramiz Raja.