Test career

Natural talent combined with aggression and passion made Abdul Qadir one of the most successful spinners of his era. He had a distinct run-up, bounding in to the crease, and a great variety of deliveries: there was the orthodox leg-break, the topspinner, two googlies and the flipper. He was unique for bowling leg spin at a time when it was not only rare but considered obsolete, and he kept the torch alight for a generation of leg spinners. His fervent appeals made him a great favourite with the spectators but sometimes got him into trouble with umpires.^[14] Abdul Qadir played 67 Test matches during 1977–90 and took 236 wickets, with an average of 32.80, including 15 five-wicket hauls. His best bowling performance was against England at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore in 1987. He also scored 1,029 runs including three fifties.^[3]

Abdul Qadir showed promise from his very first Test series, bowling along with left-arm spinner Iqbal Qasim, with Wisden Almanack describing him as "the most notable discovery of his type for some time."^[15][16] He made his Test debut against England at his home ground, Gaddafi Stadium, on 14 December 1977. His leg-breaks and googlies both caused problems for the English batsmen, but he was only able to take one wicket and his length began to falter late in the innings, forcing Pakistan to take the new ball and bowl their fast bowlers instead.^[17][18] He was far more successful in the second Test match. He took 6 wickets for 44 runs in 24 overs, bowling around the wicket into the footmarks of English fast bowler Bob Willis, giving him the best bowling figures for a Pakistan bowler against England.^[16][19] After taking five wickets in the third and final Test match,^[20][21] he finished as the leading wicket-taker for the series with 12 wickets at an average of 25.41.^[22]

Abdul Qadir's second Test series, in England in 1978, was an injury-plagued let-down, but he was a strong and established force by his return in 1982, when his six wickets in the Lord's Test played a major role in a historic Pakistani victory.^[23] He took ten wickets in the series with an average of 40.60.^[24]

Abdul Qadir's first significant performance came in the 1982–83 series against Australia, taking seven wickets for 156 runs and 11 wickets for 218 runs in the first two Test matches—man of the match in both the matches.^[25][26] He accumulated 22 wickets—Pakistani record against Australia—conceding 562 runs and with the average of 25.54 in the three-Test series.^[27][28] Due to his performance with the ball, he won the man of the series award for first time in his Test career.^[29] Pakistan clean-swept the series, winning the first and the third Test by nine wickets each, and the second Test by an innings and three runs.^[30] Qadir took 19 wickets for 451 runs with the help of three five-wicket hauls in following home series against England.^[31] Pakistan recorded their first series win against England.^[32] In the 1985–86 home series against Sri Lanka, he took six wickets in the third match at Karachi.^[33]

At the Kennington Oval in 1987, Abdul Qadir's ten-wicket haul ensured another series win, this time in England.^[34] Three months later, Abdul Qadir brought his art to an all new level – in the next home series against the same team – taking 30 wickets for 437 runs in three Tests including the best bowling figures in an innings by a Pakistani, nine wickets for 56 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium.^[3][35] This is also the seventh best performance for an innings in Test cricket, and the best by any bowler against England.^[36][37] He achieved his career best performance in an innings, 61 runs, at the National Stadium, Karachi.^[38] Abdul Qadir's tremendous performance earned him another man of the series award, and Pakistan won another series against England.^[29][37] During this crusade, he moved past the 200-wicket mark, becoming the first man from his country ever to do so. Abdul Qadir was ineffective against India in the 1989–90 home series, taking only six wickets from four Tests with an average above 57.^[39] He played his last Test against the West Indies in December 1990 at the Gaddafi Stadium.^[40]

One Day International career

Abdul Qadir made his ODI debut against New Zealand at Edgbaston during 1983 Cricket World Cup; he took four wickets for 21 runs in 12 overs, earning him the man of the match award.^[41] He took 12 wickets for 264 runs in the tournament with an average of 22.00,^[42] including a five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka at Headingley, Leeds.^[43] In the 1983–84 World Series Cup, Abdul Qadir played eight matches and took 15 wickets at the average of 18.13,^[44] including five wickets for 53 against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a match Pakistan lost by 43 runs.^[45] In the 1985–86 home season, he took six wickets against Sri Lanka,^[46] and five wickets against the West Indies including four wickets for 17 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium.^[47][48] Abdul Qadir's eight wickets in six matches were the second highest figures against India in 1986–87.^[49] Sachin Tendulkar played him smoothly in his first Test series for India, and it may have been his attacking batting, which cut short Abdul Qadir's Test career.

Abdul Qadir captained the Pakistan cricket team during England's tour to Pakistan, losing all the three matches; he topped the list of highest wicket takers during the 1987–88 series between the teams, with eight wickets at the average of 13.17.^[50] He took six wickets during the 1988–89 Wills Asia Cup at the average of 17.00,^[51] including three wickets for 27 runs, against India in the fifth match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka.^[52] During the Nehru Cup in 1989–90, he was second in the list of leading wicket takers, with 12 wicket from seven matches at the average of 21.75.^[53] His best figure in a match during the tournament were three wickets for 27 runs, against Australia at the Brabourne Stadium, Bombay.^[54] Abdul Qadir played his last ODI against Sri Lanka at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium in 1993.^[55] In total, Abdul Qadir played 104 ODIs during 1977–93, taking 132 wickets and averaged 26.16. He also took two five-wicket hauls, including his best ODI performance of five wickets for 44 runs against Sri Lanka during the 1983 World Cup.^[3][43] He scored 641 runs in ODIs, and his highest score in this format of the game was 41 not out.^[3]