IJAZ AHMAD (PAKISTAN)

Introduction:

Ijaz Ahmed (born 20 September 1968 in Sialkot) is a 

retired Pakistani cricketer who played 60 Tests and 250 One Day Internationals for Pakistan over a period from 1986 to 2001.

Ijaz Ahmed is an effective player. Ijaz Ahmed is quick in the covers and once bowled medium pacers with a round arm action.

Personal Life:

Ijaz Ahmad is married to the sister of his former team mate Saleem Malik's wife. He has 4 daughters naming Hina, Neha, Safa and Ayesh. All of Ijaz Ahmad's daughters had been studying in Convent Of Jesus and Mary school, located on Davis Road. Ijaz Ahmad and his daughters Safa Ijaz and Ayesh Ijaz were recently seen on the grand opening of the Salt Cave Spa.

Career:

Ijaz Ahmad had the lowest batting average of the team, with a Test average of 38 and an ODI average of 32, but he did hit six Test centuries against the world's top ranked side for much of his career, Australia  which is a record number of centuries by a Pakistani against Australia, shared with Javed Miandad.

However, in Test cricket he had a habit of being dismissed for low scores, as 33 of his 92 innings yielded single figure scores and 54 of them yielded scores below 20.

Ijaz Ahmad came into the national side at the height of the Imran Khan era, and remained on the fringes for near a decade, despite several good scores, he struggled to
find consistency, a trait for which his legendary captain had little patience, though Imran appreciated his hard work and determination per Wasim Akram. Dropped after the 1992 World Cup ''true to his overshadowed nature he played in most of the games including the final, with few highlights, many people are unaware of his presence in the team'', he worked on his game and came back strongly the following season and established himself at the pivotal "one down" position. He was competent if not spectacular in this role for many years, though he did play a few highly memorable knocks especially in ODIs. After the 1999 World Cup ''where he performed poorly and was blamed for the batting collapse in the final'' he was dropped, he returned after a few months, however by then the arrival of Younis Khan, a player who matched Ijaz 
Ahmad's determination, but exceeded his talent and technique ''though he is also in the unorthodox mould'' had made Ijaz Ahmad's place in the side at one down doubtful and indeed after a few matches against England and then New Zealand in 2000-2001, in which he was singularly unimpressive, he was dropped never to return.
He appeared in 4 World Cups and was a World Cup winner in 1992. Ijaz Ahmad was a powerful hitter, especially on the leg side of the pitch.

Batting and fielding:

Ijaz Ahmad was much significant with his bat. Though appeared unreliable often, Ijaz Ahmad scored 12 test centuries. Ijaz Ahmad scored his first and only double century of test cricket against Sri Lanka, when he scored 211. This was the same match, in which Wasim Akram got his second wicket hat trick, a match which 

Pakistan eventually won by an innings and

170 runs. 

Ijaz Ahmad has also been the top runs maker from Pakistani side against South Africa. Ijaz Ahmad can be regarded as one of the best fielders, the Pakistani cricket has ever produced. He was an excellent fielder, often inside the circle at square position and mid on. His best fielding in match against Australia in 1999 world cup, initial stage greatly restricted the overflow of runs by Australian batsmen in the final moments of the match. It was due to his best fielding that Pakistan won that match by 10 runs after a thrilling battle.

As a Coach of Pakistani's Under 19 Team:

Ijaz Ahmad was appointed as the coach of Pakistan's under 19 cricket team on 20 October 2009 by the Pakistan Cricket Board. It was under his coaching that the Pakistan's cricket team played brilliantly in the under 19 world cup. Pakistan's team reached final where they lost to Australia in New Zealand. However the overall performance of the team was quite good.

Coach of the Pakistani National Team:

Ijaz Ahmad was selected combined coach with Waqar Younis After Pakistan's defeat against New Zealand at UAE in 2009's ODI series and resignation of Younis Khan from the captaincy, changes were made in the team, with Waqar Younis being installed as the coach of Pakistan's cricket team. After Pakistan was white washed by Australia in test, ODI and T20 matches in 2010.

Fake Cheque:

Ijaz Ahmad was arrested on 25 March 2009, on the grounds that he has submitted a bogus bank cheque of 10 million rupees. It occurred when Police acted against him following a complaint filed against Ijaz Ahmad by two property dealers, for issuing them cheques that had bounced. Fingers and criticism were pointed on Government as soon as the Pakistan's largest daily, The Jang, published the news of his arresting by police. He was taken to cell but later on shifted to room, due to his bad health. However, former Pakistan captain Saleem Malik, who is also Ijaz Ahmad's brother-in-law, denied that his former team mate had committed any wrongdoing. "The truth is that these property dealers owe money to Ijaz and they have registered a false case against him," Malik said. Later on the lawyer of Ijaz Ahmad stated to media men that Ijaz Ahmad has been tortured mentally by the police and asked for justice, saying that it is not the way to treat a national hero. On 16 May 2009, he was freed on bail from imprisonment. In June 2009, the court officially declared the complaint against Ijaz Ahmad as a false attempt to spoil his fame and confirmed his innocence. The court's decision found favour with cricket fans of Ijaz Ahmad and other sports constituencies.

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