Javed Miandad

Some Lesser Known Facts About Javed Miandad

• Javed Miandad is a retired Pakistani cricketer who has represented Pakistan in six World Cups. He has made many records for Pakistan and helped them to win the 1992 World Cup. He is regarded as one of the finest cricketers Pakistan has ever produced. He also served as the coach of the Pakistani national team.

• During the Partition of India in 1947, his family migrated to Karachi, Pakistan from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.

• He grew up in a cricket-loving family, and his father was also a cricketer, who was an intelligence officer in the police department in Baroda (now Vadodara) before India’s Partition. He became a grader at the Karachi Cotton Exchange after moving to Karachi and later became the secretary of the Muslim Gymkhana and an office-holder in the Karachi Cricket Association. ^[6]The Telegraph

• He initially started playing cricket at the Muslim Gymkhana in Karachi, Pakistan, where he played many matches only as a fielder to spend time with national players. He earned Rs 50 per match and honed his skills while playing in these local competitions.

  

• He became popular in these competitions when he hit three sixes off the last three balls to win the match for his team which needed 16 runs to win the match.

• He played in the 1974 Under-19 World Cup held in England.

  

• In a match of the 1975 Kardar Summer Shield Trophy, he scored 311 runs which became his highest first-class score. His knock caught the attention of Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistan’s first test captain and widely respected administrator of Pakistani cricket, who called him the find of the century.

• He scored 163 runs in his first innings of test cricket while playing against New Zealand and became the second Pakistani batsman to score a century on his test debut.

  

• In the third test of his career, he scored 206 runs against New Zealand and became the youngest player to score a double century in tests.

• In the 1978-79 series against India, he completed 1000 test runs and became the second-youngest batsman to score 1000 test runs at that time.

  

• In the 1979-80 series against India, he completed 2000 test runs and became the fastest Pakistani batsman to achieve this feat (42 innings).

• He captained Pakistan for the first time in the 1979-1980 series against Australia.

• In the 4th test during the 1982-83 series against India, he put up a partnership of 451 runs for the 3rd wicket with Mudassar Nazar, which became the world record for the 3rd wicket partnership and equalled the world record for any test wicket at that time. This was the first partnership for Pakistan in which both batsmen scored double centuries; Javed scored his career-best test score of 280 runs not out.

• In the 1982 series against Sri Lanka, he completed 3000 test runs and became the fastest Pakistani batsman to achieve this feat (67 innings).

  

• In the 1983 tour of India, he completed 4000 test runs and became the fastest Pakistani batsman to achieve this feat (84 innings).

• He displayed the witty side of his personality when Ravi Shastri was batting during the Indian chase in the final of the 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket. He asked Ravi Shastri why he was looking at the Audi 100 car and said that Shastri would not get the car. India chased down the target of 177 runs and won the tournament. Shastri was adjudged man of the tournament and won an Audi 100 car.

• Ravi Shastri later talked about that incident and said that he also replied to Javed and said that the car was coming his way. He said,
  

  We needed some 15-20 runs more to beat Pakistan in the final of the 1985 Benson & Hedges tournament. I had a look at square-leg to check the field set by Javed Miandad, Pakistan’s captain. Javed perked up from midwicket. Tu baar baar udhar kya deke raha hai” (Why are you looking there repeatedly?) he said in his characteristic lisp. “Gaadi ko kyun dekh raha hai?!” (Why are you looking at the car). Voh nahi milne waali hai tere ko! (You are not going to get it!) That’s when I had one proper look at it, and told him, “Javed, meri taraf hi aa rahi hai! (It’s coming my way, only!)” ^[7]Times Now

• Three unfortunate incidents occurred during the 1985-1986 Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka, which violated the spirit of the game. First, the umpire started rubbing the new ball which was taken only after 16 overs of Pakistani batting to stop it from swinging; second, Javed fought with the umpire over his dismissal; third, a fan threw a stone at Javed who in turn went into the stands to beat him. These protests outraged Pakistani players who refused to play further series; however, Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq intervened and persuaded the players to continue the series.

• In the 1985 tour of New Zealand, he completed 5000 test runs and became the fastest Pakistani batsman to achieve this feat (107 innings), a record which was later broken by Younis Khan.

• He became a household name on 18 April 1986 by hitting six off the last ball of Chetan Sharma to help Pakistan win the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup. India gave a target of 246 runs to Pakistan which lost 2 wickets for 39 runs during the chase. He kept scoring runs at a steady pace to steer the chase with 4 runs needed off the last ball. Chetan Sharma, then only 18 years old, tried to bowl a low yorker; however, Javed anticipated this and stood a few inches ahead of the crease, which turned the delivery into a low full toss, and he hit it for a six, helping Pakistan to win the tournament by one wicket. ^[8]Hindustan Times

• He became extremely popular as it was one of the earliest occasions when a match was won in that style. He was awarded a Mercedes car, a diamond bracelet worth $80,000, and a promotion at Habib Bank for his match-winning performance of 116 runs off 114 balls at a strike rate of 101.75.

• Then Indian captain Kapil Dev said after the match that this defeat crushed the Indian team’s confidence for the next four years. He said,
  

  When the last over came, we went to Chetan. To this day, I still feel it wasn’t his mistake. They needed 4 runs on the last ball and we decided that it would be a low yorker. There was no other alternative. He tried his best, we all tried. It turned out to be a low full-toss. Miandad kept his backfoot intact and connected it. Even when we remember that today, we can’t sleep. That defeat crushed the whole side’s confidence for the next four years. It was very difficult to make a comeback from there” ^[9]Times Now

• In his autobiography, Javed mentioned that he expected Chetan to bowl a yorker. He wrote,
  

  I knew that he would try to bowl a yorker, so I decided to stand just ahead of the crease…..poor Chetan Sharma.” ^[10]CNN-News18

• Chetan Sharma said in an interview later that the cricket fans do not allow him to forget that six, and he went into depression after the match. He said,
  

  I try to forget that six but people do not let me. People do not forget things — either good or bad — that happens during India-Pakistan clashes. People won’t remember the hat-trick against New Zealand in 1987 World Cup or the good performance against England but that Miandad six is one thing they will never forget. No one in the team said anything to me but I myself was upset. That was a very bad phase for me but I overcame that period with the help of my coach Deshprem Azad and friends.” ^[11]The Times of India

• Pakistani legend Wasim Akram took to Twitter in April 2020 to reveal that Javed hit the six with his bat.

• On 6 August 1987, during the 5th test of the England tour, he became the first Pakistani batsman to score 6000 test runs (133 innings).

• In the 1988 series against Australia, he became the first Pakistani batsman to score 7000 test runs (145 innings), and in the 1990 series against New Zealand, he became the first Pakistani batsman to score 8000 test runs (162 innings).

• On 8 January 1989, during a match against Australia in Benson & Hedges World Series, he became the first Pakistani batsman to score 5000 ODI runs (139 innings).
  

  

• He tried to persuade the Indian legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar to go off the field when the latter was injured while playing in his debut test series against Pakistan in 1989. Apparently, Sachin was hit on the nose by a bouncer bowled by Waqar Younis, and his nose started badly. Javed told Tendulkar that his nose is broken and he needed to visit a hospital. Sachin did not walk off the field and helped India draw the match. ^[12]Hindustan Times

• He displayed his batting prowess to make Pakistan a world champion by winning the 1992 World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand despite suffering from a stomach infection and back injury and joined the team only two days before the tournament. ^[13]Gulf News

• He convinced the Pakistani players, who were protesting against captain Imran Khan to play in the tournament. He talked about this in an interview and said,
  

  The revolt took place before the semi-final against New Zealand. But to me, the country was more important and I convinced the players to carry on playing under Imran. Imran retired after winning the World Cup and before the England tour in 1992 because he had come to know about the revolt.” ^[14]SAMAA ENGLISH

• New Zealand gave a target of 262 runs to Pakistan who lost 2 wickets for 84 runs. He scored 57 runs not out to help them win the semifinal and enter the final.

  

• He played in the final match despite being infected by an unknown virus, which the doctors also were unable to diagnose. In an interview, he said that he was sweating profusely and was facing trouble batting continuously. He said,
  

  I couldn’t understand what exactly my problem was. I was infected with some peculiar virus because of which I used sweat a lot. I even consulted doctors but my condition towards the end of our innings in the final was such that I couldn’t play a shot, I was just standing there. At the other end, I had Imran (Khan). We forged a partnership and batted the full 50 overs to put up a respectable score.” ^[15]Hindustan Times

• He scored 58 runs in the final match on 25 March 1992 to help Pakistan post a challenging target of 250 runs to England. Pakistan bowled England all out for 227 runs and became the world champion.

• He made 437 runs in 8 matches at an average of 62.42 with 5 half-centuries which increased his popularity manifold.

  

• He retired as the highest runscorer in tests for cricket (8832 runs), a record later broken by Younis Khan. He also had the maximum number of test centuries for Pakistan (23) at the time of his retirement, a record broken by Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, and Mohammad Yousuf.

• He was the highest runscorer for Pakistan in 20 matches out of 124 matches, and the highest runscorer for Pakistan in 38 innings out of 189 innings he played in his career.

• In the 23 test innings when he made a century, he averages 238.93, the highest for a Pakistani batsman.

• He scored more than 1000 test runs in three stadiums across Pakistan; 1393 runs at National Stadium, Karachi, 1122 runs at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, and 1068 runs at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

• He was the captain of the Pakistan test team in 34 matches, winning 14 and losing 6, and in 62 ODIs, winning 26 and losing 33.

• He became the coach of the Pakistan team on three occasions. He was first appointed as a coach in September 1998 and sent his immediate resignation letter via fax just before the 1999 World Cup. As per one source, he had a fallout with some senior players of the team, and as per another source, he was miffed with the appointment of Richard Pybus as the technical coach and Sarfaraz Nawaz as the bowling coach. Pakistan won the 1999 Sharjah Cup under his first coaching stint.

  

• He became the coach of Pakistan for the second time in 2000 and was removed after New Zealand defeated Pakistan in the 2000-2001 ODI series. Allegedly, match-fixing happened during the test series against New Zealand. He led Pakistan to win the 2000 Sharjah Cup and the 2000 Asia Cup during his second coaching stint.

• He became the coach for the third time in March 2003. He was removed in June 2004 after Pakistan lost the test and ODI series against India. Pakistan won the 2003 Sharjah Cup under his third coaching stint.

• Australian legendary cricketer Ian Chappell said in an interview in 2014 that Javed was a skilled, tenacious, and shrewd cricketer. He said,
  

  Javed Miandad was the archetypal champion if he’s on your side, bastard if he’s an opponent. With his skill, perseverance and street-urchin cunning, Javed won grudging respect as one of the finest batsmen in the game.” ^[16]Dawn

  

• He became the brand ambassador of the under-19 T-20 tournament launched by Pakistan cricket legend Ramiz Raja in 2022, Pakistan Junior League.