Former Pakistan opener Mohammad Ilyas passes away at 79

Former Pakistan opener Mohammad Ilyas passed away in Lahore at 79.

Ilyas played 10 Tests for the country in the ‘60s, with six of those coming against New Zealand. He struck his maiden and only Test ton against the same opposition in the 1965 Karachi Test, the third and final one of the series, which Pakistan won 2-0 at home. Ilyas’ first-class numbers read much better: he scored 4607 runs in 82 games at an average of 35.71.

A Boxing enthusiast in his early days, Ilyas inclined towards cricket as he grew older and began to bowl pace in local games in Lahore. He was spotted by a teacher at the Muslim Model school and left a mark in the school nets after being called to play, which culminated in his selection for a Lahore school’s team.

He found batting to be his calling and eventually switched to that. Ilyas rose through the ranks of school and club cricket to reach one of the most renowned and well-established clubs in Lahore, the Crescent Club. His performance at the club paved the way for his first-class debut, which came in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy in November 1961, when he was only 15.

Three years later, Ilyas made his international debut against Australia in the one-off Test at MCG in 1964 after leaving a mark in the warm-up match against Queensland, with scores of 46 and 115. However, his international debut was not a memorable affair, as he was run out after scoring 6 off 15 in the first innings and was pinned lbw for three off 20 in the second.

Ilyas remained a part of the Pakistan squads in that decade, touring England in 1967. He struggled to get going there, partly due to the foot injury he picked up, and only played one Test. He then played against England at home in 1969 in what would be his last series, scoring 42 runs in four innings.

Ilyas was part of the squad when Pakistan toured Australia and New Zealand in 1972-73, but a physical scuffle with BCCP (now PCB) chief Abdul Hafeez Kardar meant that he was expelled from the team.

Instead of flying to Pakistan, Ilyas stayed back in Australia and applied for citizenship. He ended the season playing grade cricket for Waverley in Sydney.