Long before the Little Master nickname was bestowed on Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar, the first diminutive giant to earn the moniker was the towering Hanif Muhammad. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Pakistan cricket would have evolved in a significantly different way were it not for Hanif’s presence. On Thursday, our Little Master breathed his last – at the age of 81. From Pakistan’s very first Test Match in 1952 to his retirement in 1969, Hanif was the first name to be pencilled into the line-up. His contributions as an opening batsman were staggering. He is now chiefly remembered for the longest innings in Test history – his nearly thousand-minute long vigil against the mighty West Indies in Bridgetown. His 337, scored in the second innings when Pakistan was following on more than 450 runs behind, remains one of the greatest of all times and is rightly the first thing people will remember after hearing of his tragic death. Second on the list would be his epic 499 for Karachi against Bahawalpur, which stood as the highest ever first class score until it was eclipsed by Brian Lara in 1995. That he was run out chasing his 500th run in the final over of the match only adds to the innings’ legend.
Hanif the cricketer was so much more than a couple of freakish innings. From the time he made his debut as a 17-year-old till his retirement, Hanif was the one outstanding batsman on whom our entire team depended. In his very first innings, he made a half century and as soon as he was dismissed the rest of the team crumbled for a score of 150. His batting is recalled for its stodginess, which was necessary given the fragility of our batting. But we should not forget his versatility. He started out for Pakistan as one of the few men in history who opened the batting and kept wicket as well. He could also bowl off-breaks with both his right and left arms. Above all, he caused a change in the cricketing culture of Pakistan. This Karachi boy ensured that the sport would no longer be seen as the preserve of the Lahori elite. Even after his retirement, Hanif kept contributing to the sport he loved so dearly. In 1972, he founded and served as chief editor of the beloved ‘Cricketer’ magazine and as recently as 2002 was a batting consultant to the national team. Ultimately, he will rank along with Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq as one of our greatest ever batsmen. But given the talent that poured out of his family, in the form of three brothers and one son who were proficient Test cricketers and a plethora of relatives who played at the first class level, Hanif’s biggest achievement may be that he was the greatest cricketer to emerge from the Mohammed family.