Amir Elahi

Amir Elahi, who died on December 28, 1980, aged 72, could lay claim to two unusual distinctions: he was one of only twelve cricketers to have played for two different countries and one of the twenty oldest cricketers to have played in a Test match. He appeared once for India, against Australia at Sydney in 1947, and five times for Pakistan, all in India in 1952-53. In his last Test match, at Calcutta, he was 44. Having begun life as a medium-paced bowler, he turned to leg-breaks and googlies, and it was in this latter role that he was best known. On his first tour, to England in 1936, he met with limited success (seventeen wickets at 42.94). In Australia, too, in 1947-48, he found wickets hard to come by (eight at 65.87), as, indeed, he did when, after partition, he went with Pakistan to India (thirteen at 38.76). In the Ranji Trophy, however, he was a prolific wicket-taker (193 wickets, 24.72), mostly for Baroda, whom he helped to win the competition in 1946-47, shortly before becoming a Pakistan citizen. His finest hour with the bat (he was most at home at number eleven) was when he shared a last-wicket partnership of 104 (a Test rarity) with Zulfiqar Ahmed for Pakistan against India at Madras. Amir Elahi's share was a surprising 47. To meet him and talk about his cricketing days was always a pleasure.
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack