Abdul Qadir greatest leg spinner of all time: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed his grief and offered condolences over the death of former Pakistan spin legend Abdul Qadir by saying he was a genius and one of the greatest leg spinners of all time.

In a message posted on Twitter, the prime minister said, “Deeply saddened to hear of Abdul Qadir’s passing. My prayers and condolences go to the family.”

Deeply saddened to hear of Abdul Qadir’s passing. My prayers & condolences go to the family. Abdul Qadir was a genius, one of the greatest leg spinners of all time. And he was also the life of the dressing room entertaining the team with his wit & humour.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) September 7, 2019

Imran added, “Abdul Qadir was a genius, one of the greatest leg spinners of all time. And he was also the life of the dressing room entertaining the team with his wit and humour.”

The prime minister added, “The bowling statistics of the spin maestro do not do justice to the genius of Abdul Qadir, as Qadir played cricket in a different time under different rules. “

Qadir’s bowling statistics do not do justice to his genius. Had he been playing cricket now with the modern DRS system, where batsmen can be given out on the front foot as well, Qadir would have gotten as many wickets as the great Shane Warne.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) September 7, 2019

Abdul Qadir was known as the dancing bowler due to his unique bowling style and is widely regarded as a leg-spinning pioneer who revived the great art in his era. He was an integral part of Pakistan’s most successful sides in the 1980s, and a valuable mentor to modern spin legends Shane Warne and Mushtaq Ahmed, among others.

Tributes from across the cricketing world have poured in for Qadir, who played his first Test against England at Lahore on Dec 14, 1977, and his first ODI against New Zealand at Birmingham on Jun 11, 1983.