From Miran Bakhsh to Asif Afridi — Pakistan’s rare legacy of late Test debutants

At 38, Asif Afridi became Pakistan’s third-oldest Test debutant against South Africa, reviving memories of Miran Bakhsh, who debuted at 47 — a unique legacy of late bloomers in Pakistan cricket.

Asif Afridi (Image Source: Google)

Recently at 38 years and 299 days, left-arm spinner Asif Afridi became 3rd oldest cricketer to make Test debut for Pakistan, at Rawalpindi against South Africa. He's also the second-oldest player to make a Test debut this century, after Ireland's Ed Joyce (39y 231d) in 2018. Asif had played 57 first-class matches (198 wickets) before this call came.

The first two oldest players to make a Test debut for Pakistan are Miran Bakhsh (also written as Bux) at 47 years and 284 days (vs India in Lahore in 1955) and Amir Elahi at 44 years and 45 days (vs India in Delhi in 1952).

The oldest Test debutant is James Southerton at 49 years and 119 days and played his first Test for England against Australia in Melbourne in 1877. Miran Bakhsh is next to him and his story is very interesting, mysterious and linked with various sub-plots. It was a short-lived experiment, conceived by a family melodrama.

When India toured Pakistan in 1954-55, Pakistan had off spinner Zulfiqar Ahmed in the side. He surprisingly withdrew from the series, and the reasons were an open secret. The Pakistan captain A H Kardar was his 'dulha bhai (husband of sister Shahzadi)' but while on tour of England in 1954, Kardar silently married an English woman. Disclosure led to the family melodrama.

Zulfiqar’s absence created a vacancy and Pakistan summoned Miran as a specialist off spinner. Miran donned Pakistan colours in the third Test against India at Lahore at 47 years 284 days but at this age couldn’t fit into the Kardar’s strategy and played only two Tests. Kardar never appeared to have trust in Miran's capability.

Anyway, Miran will always be remembered as a product of oddities and only through his strong will power to excel, played cricket. His father was a groundsman at the Rawalpindi Club and while helping his father with his duties, started off-spin bowling without any proper coaching. His bowling earned him the respect of cricket loving English Army officers who used him at the nets and in the local club matches. This all was playing second grade cricket and he played higher level of cricket at the age of 42 years only.

1948-49: Played for the Commander-in-Chief's XI against the West Indies, the first international team to tour Pakistan, at Rawalpindi and claimed five for 62, including Headley and Walcott in the first innings.

1949-50: Against Commonwealth XI, his match figures were ten for 82 (taking 5 wickets in each innings). The Australian Test spinner, George Tribe was in the visitors XI, and he was so impressed with his bowling that he complimented him.

These matches were never accorded first class status.

1949-50: Made first class debut a few weeks before his 43rd birthday, for the Commander-in-Chief's Eleven against Ceylon XI (Sri Lanka) in 1950.

Believe it, he did not play another first-class match for almost next five years and was then straight away fielded in the Lahore Test in January 1955 at the age of 47 years and 284 days. It was Maqsood Ahmed, 'Merry Max’ who had suggested Miran’s name to Kardar. With dyed black hair and in the white cricket kit (while others were in off white kit) Miran looked different and didn’t mix much.

1954-55 Test debut: He troubled almost all India batsmen, and his figures were 48-20-82-2 in India's first innings of 251. Surprisingly, in the second innings Kardar used 8 bowlers but didn’t trouble Miran.

1954-55 Peshawar Test: In this Test Pakistan bowled 127 overs and Miran was allowed only ten overs.

With this his Test career ended but not his cricket career. Start of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, in Pakistan came as a lifeline and Miran continued exhibiting his art. In 1956-57 he recorded his best performance and claimed six for 15 for Services at Dacca against East Pakistan (Whites) to bundle out them for 33.

1958-59: His last season and had match figures of nine for 72 for Rawalpindi against Services. He played in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy till the age of 51.

First-class career record: 48 wickets at 19.43 in 15 matches.

In the first Test of the recent series with South Africa, when Noman Ali took wickets at the age of 39 years, he became the first bowler in more than 70 years to take a wicket for Pakistan in Tests at the age of 39 plus. In 1955 against India in Lahore the feat was performed by Miran Bakhsh.

Miran Bakhsh has an enclosure named after him at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. On various occasions the ignorant visitors have presumed that the enclosure is named after some ‘pir baba’