Style. Class. Elegance. Saeed Anwar made 8,824 One-day International runs (average 39.21 and strike rate 80.67) and 4,052 runs in Tests (average 45.52).
Watching Saeed Anwar bat was an absolute delight. The left-handed batter mesmerised the cricket world with his scintillating shots for over almost 14 years. He made his international debut for Pakistan in a One-Day International against the West Indies at the WACA on 1 January 1989. His Test debut came the next year against the same opposition at Faisalabad on 23 November.
Saeed was a dashing batter. His supple wrists allowed him to find thinnest of the gaps on the off-side and he scored runs between the point and the cover region at will. His flick of the legs and pick-up shots over deep backward square leg left the fans and the followers of the game in awe.
Saeed is the most prolific opener to have ever played for Pakistan. In ODIs, he made 8,156 runs at an average of 39.98 and a strike rate of 79.93 at the top of the order, which are the most for an opener from his country. Similarly, he also leads the charts for the most Test runs by a Pakistan opener with 3,957 runs at 47.10. That his accomplishments are yet to be eclipsed after more than two decades of his retirement – he hung his boots in 2003 – underscores his greatness.
Because of his flamboyance, Saeed was the most impressive in the 50-over format. He scored 20 centuries and 43 half-centuries in 244 innings. He was especially unstoppable at the Sharjah Cricket Ground, where he scored seven centuries and 11 half-centuries in 51 innings. This is also where he joined his compatriot, Zaheer Abbas, in the exclusive club of men’s batters with most successive hundreds in ODI cricket by smashing three on trot against Sri Lanka, West Indies, and Sri Lanka in October and November 1993. The club now includes two more Pakistanis - Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman.
He played three ICC Men’s Cricket World Cups in 1996, 1999, and 2003 and top scored for his country in all of them. However, his most memorable knock in the limited overs cricket came in 1997 when he smashed 194 against arch-rivals India at Chennai. This was the highest-ever ODI score at the time and remained intact until 2009 when Zimbabwe’s Charles Coventry made 194 not out against Bangladesh. Wisden named Saeed their Cricketer of the Year in 1997.
Though, Saeed failed to score a run in his maiden Test, he announced his arrival in Test cricket in only his third match with a 169 against New Zealand at Wellington in 1994. He recorded his highest Test score 188 not out against India at Eden Gardens in February 1999 and became the only third Pakistan batter to carry his bat in the format. He scored 11 centuries and 25 half-centuries across 91 Test innings.
He occasionally bowled left-arm orthodox and while he never picked up a Test wicket, he accounted for six batters in 13 ODI innings with two for nine being his best figures.
Saeed is also a recipient of Presidential Pride of Performance Award, a prestigious honour bestowed by the President of Pakistan for notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, and nursing.
Born in Karachi in 1968, Saeed completed his engineering degree from the renowned NED University in 1989. By the completion of his degree, Saeed had already made a mark in domestic cricket with his stints for Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan and United Bank Limited.
He also captained Pakistan in seven Tests and 11 ODIs.