23 Interesting facts about Majid Khan - Grace and Fluency Personified

Published - 28 Sept 2015, 12:10 IST | Updated - 28 Sept 2015, 12:10 IST

2 Min Read

23 Interesting facts about Majid Khan – Grace and Fluency Personified: Majid Khan sometimes gave an impression that he wasn’t exactly trying but cricket came naturally to him. He was head and shoulders above the rest if talked purely in terms of class and elegance. The first Pakistani batsman to score an ODI hundred, Majid wasn’t too fond of records and for obvious reasons. He believed cricket to be just an extension of your human recreational talent. He was one of the few India born cricketers to represent Pakistan with some distinction. Majid exhibited the skill of a surgeon performing a succesful operation on a patient who looked almost impossible to cure.

On his 69^th birthday we look at 23 Interesting facts about Majid Khan – Grace and Fluency Personified:

1. Born in India

Son of Jahangir Khan, who had represented the undivided British Indian team, Majid Khan was born in Ludhiana an year before independence.

2. Indeed

Majid Khan’s father, Dr. Jahangir Khan, famously killed a bird while bowling during an MCC vs. Cambridge University match in 1936. This bird is now part of the permanent MCC museum at Lord’s Cricket ground.

3. The starting years

At the age of 15 Majid Khan scored 111 not out and took 6 wickets for 67 runs for Lahore ’B’ in division cricket. Later batting for Punjab University he scored a double century after his side had been precariously placed at 5-4.

4. A Fast Bowler? Yes!!

Majid Khan made his Test debut in 1964 against Australia at Karachi as a fast bowler. He ruthlessly deployed the bouncer that got him into trouble and thus was forced to alter his bowling style.

5. First full-fledged series

On his first series in England in 1967 Majid Khan was hardly succesful in the Test matches but in the tour games, gave some majestic performances scoring 973 runs at 42.30, including a swashbuckling 147 not out in 89 mins at Swansea.

6. Glamorgan comes calling

Credit to that impressive show, Glamorgan county signed him and Majid Khan brilliantly displayed his prowess by scoring 1,258 runs in his first season in 1969.

7. An all time classic

In June 1969 on a broken wicket at Derbyshire Majid Khan scored 156, like a warrior standing tall in alien conditions when most of the batting capitulated. This was one of the greatest innings the world of Cricket ever witnessed.

8. The University performance

Majid Khan also batted brilliantly for Cambridge, captaining the University side in 1971 and 1972, leading them to their first victory over Oxford in 14 years.

9. Fantastic

In 1972-73 Majid Khan took the Australian bowling spearheaded by Dennis Lillee to the sword scoring 158 at Melbourne. He averaged over 50 in the series and was largely responsible for Pakistan giving Ian Chappell’s Australian team a run for their money.

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10 Kudos!!

Majid Khan also holds the unique honour of scoring the first one day century for Pakistan. In an ODI against England at Trent Bridge on 31 August 1974, Khan scored 109 from 93 balls.

11. A deserved recognition

In 1972 Majid Khan won the Walter Lawrence Trophy for the season’s fastest century which he scored in 70 minutes for Glamorgan against Warwickshire.

12. Prudential World Cup, 1975

Majid Khan made some useful fifties in the 1975 Prudential World Cup but Pakistan failed to qualify to the semi-finals. However he played an important role in Pakistan being regarded amongst the top 3 sides in the World with the West Indies and Australia.

13. Outstanding

Majid Khan is one of the four batsmen in Test cricket history to score a century before lunch in a match. He achieved the feat against New Zealand at Karachi in 1976.14.

14. A True Masterclass

The 1976–77 tour of West Indies was the most remarkable period for Majid Khan, where he scored 530 Test runs against one of the most powerful bowling attacks in the history of the game. His best innings was perhaps the 167 in Pakistan’s second innings at Georgetown that saved the visitors from a likely defeat.

15. 1979 World Cup

In the semi-final of the 1979 World Cup he scored a superb 81 and added 166 runs in a partnership with Zaheer Abbas. Pakistan though couldn’t reach the finals and his knock went in vain.

16. The Imran Khan connect

Legendary Pakistan captain Imran Khan is Majid Khan’s cousin, and ironically it was Imran who dropped him from the side.

17. Bazid Khan

Majid’s son Bazid Khan has played one Test and five ODIs for the country, making the family the second after the Headleys – George, Ronald George and Dean, to have 3 consecutive generations of Test cricketers.

18. Unfortunate

Majid Khan’s career ended on a sad note when his cousin Imran Khan was forced to drop him, after the 1982 India tour, which also happened to be his last series. This incident also soured his relationship with Imran to an extent.

19. Career in numbers

Majid Khan’s first-class career spanned from 1961 to 1985 and he played 63 Tests for Pakistan, scoring 3,931 runs and making 8 centuries, and scoring over 27,000 first-class runs and making 73 first-class centuries, with 128 fifties.

20. ODI numbers

In 23 ODIs, Majid Khan managed 786 runs at 37.42 with a high strike-rate of 74.71. Had he been born a decade later, Majid Khan might have been a force to reckon with in limited overs cricket.

21. The attributes

Majestic driving and hooking were his hallmarks, and Majid Khan could score effortlessly at speed. Few Cricketers combined such feline grace with aggression. Majid Khan was a true genius.

22. Post retirement ventures

After retirement, Majid Khan became a match referee, and later an administrator with the Pakistan Cricket Board. He remains an active and important influence for the game in Pakistan today.