Qadir banished

Press, 7 February 1985, Page 40

Qadir banished

An unseemly shoving match on the Basin Reserve last week might have led to the sensational sacking of the Pakistan cricket team’s famed leg-spin bowler, Abdul Qadir, in Christchurch yesterday. The tall, lithe Qadir, a veteran of 33 tests, is to leave on the first leg of his homeward journey today. He is being sent home for what the manager, Yawar Saeed, described as “disciplinary reasons.”

Qadir expressed puzzlement at the motive for the move, except to say that the incident with his captain of the day, Zaheer Abbas, in the Wellington match last week-end might have sparked the banishment. The match was spluttering towards a draw, when Qadir made a half-hearted attempt to cut off a cover drive from Ross Ormiston. The ball sped to the boundary.

“Zaheer shouted at me from mid-on," Qadir said.

“Then he came over and abused me. He pushed me three times on the shoulder, and he said ‘get out’ three times.

“He was the captain, so I walked towards the dressing room. I thought he would call me back, but he did not.”

Qadir alleged that his sacking was pre-planned, and that Pakistani cricket authorities wanted to “spoil” the friends of Imran Khan, the Pakistani allrounder who is coaching and playing in New South Wales. Imran had previously fallen out with the chief Pakistani selector, Haseeb Hassan. A married man with two children, Qadir spent a warm day yesterday in the seclusion of his hotel room, fielding telephone calls and writing letters. “I was not invited to go to watch the match at Lancaster Park,” he said. “The manager said I should have a rest.”