The amazing Siraj may have taken Asif Iqbal back to his Hyderabad days

Hyderabad pacer Mohammad Siraj’s sensational spell against Sri Lanka in the recent Asia Cup final has a message for Hyderabad-born former Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal, who hopefully has watched Siraj’s unplayable spell on that eventful day.

One must be wondering why a Pakistani cricketer, who quit the game way back in 1980, would be interested in a player of this generation. Nostalgia, it is known as.

Well, Iqbal would be transported to a few decades back when he left Hyderabad for Pakistan to play at the highest level. An alumnus of the prestigious Nizam College, he represented Hyderabad in Ranji Trophy in 1961 when he was just a 17-year-old budding cricketer. That was the phase when the formidable Hyderabad team boasted of extraordinary players like the charismatic M.L. Jaisimha, K. Jayanti Lal and Abbas Ali Baig. However, after one season, Iqbal, nephew of former India captain Ghulam Ahmad, was dropped from the side. That in a way changed the life of Asif Iqbal.

Grapevine is that he was told by his friends, “As you are a Muslim, you would never get a chance to play for India. You should try your luck in Pakistan.”

Of course, these were unfounded reasons but that was the talk doing the rounds in those days. Iqbal was even dissuaded from migrating to Pakistan but he had made up his mind.

After him, some others from Hyderabad also crossed the border like Murtaza Ali Baig and Sultan Saleem. Although, they never hit big time, Asif Iqbal made a huge mark in his adopted land, where he remains an inspirational role-model.

Seeing Siraj cementing his place in Team India, Iqbal would have done back to those heady days when he was desperate to play international cricket and felt that prospects were bleak given his background, despite his all-round abilities.

Determined to prove his mettle and spurred by the ‘advices’ of his ‘friends’, he migrated to Pakistan and the rest is history, as they say, given that he went on to become a legend in his lifetime.

The point to be noted is that after Asif Iqbal left India, many Muslims from Hyderabad made it to the national side proving that it was talent and not one’s religious background that earned berths in Indian cricket. Making the top grade were players of outstanding capabilities like Tiger Pataudi (who was the toast of Hyderabad cricket after moving out from Delhi) and Mohammad Azharuddin, both of whom led India to great levels; S. Abid Ali and Arshad Ayub.

While on the topic of Hyderabad Muslims and sports, one is tempted to talk of football in which Hyderabad produced an amazing array of globally revered players and coaches like S.A. Rahim, Noor Mohammed, S.K. Azizuddin, Zulfikaruddin, Mohammad Habib and Mohammad Akbar to name just a handful of celebrated players. And then there is Sania Mirza.

Going beyond Hyderabad, you would know that many Muslims have played cricket at the top level like Saleem Durrani, S.M.H. Kirmani, Wasim Jaffer, Mohammad Kaif, Zaheer Khan, Mohammad Sami, the Pathan brothers, and several more. Many of them have had humble

Origins, and came from small towns, including Azharuddin and Siraj, whose father is an auto driver.

Asif Iqbal’s career blossomed in Pakistan and picked up after his Test debut at Karachi in 1964 against Australia. Such were his exploits that he went on to also lead Kent to championship successes.

“Going to India for my last Test series was emotional, that too when I was given a standing ovation by the crowd,” he was to recount about the

fantastic reception he received at Eden Gardens in 1980.

While Asif Iqbal has never revealed about what forced him to leave India, there are many in Hyderabad who know the real story.

If everything goes well, Team India would have the presence of many more Muslim players, which is reinforced by the presence of five players in the latest Under-19 squad.

One hopes that the aspiring Muslim cricketers will make the India grade with authorities giving weightage to talent and not to any other considerations.

(The author is Delhi-based senior journalist and writer. He is author of Gandhi's Delhi which has brought to the forth many hidden facts about Mahatma Gandhi)