Majid Khan (cricketer)

Majid Jahangir Khan was born on 28 September 1946 in Ludhiana, in the Punjab Province of British India (now in Punjab, India) into the Burki tribe of Pashtuns. Khan grew up in Lahore, the capital of the Punjab province of Pakistan. His father, Jahangir Khan, had played Test cricket for India before the Partition of India in 1947. He is a cousin of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was also a former captain of the Pakistan national cricket team before entering politics. Majid Khan started his career as a pace bowler, but a back injury and doubts over his technique converted him into an off-spin bowler and batsman. Khan also played for Glamorgan in Britain, Queensland in Australia, and in Pakistan for Pakistan International Airlines, Rawalpindi, Lahore and the province of Punjab. Whilst playing for Glamorgan in 1969, he was approached to join University of Cambridge and play cricket for them by two Sri Lankan players. Khan was enrolled to Emmanuel College by a tutor, David Newsome, and read History between 1969 and 1972. He captained the Cambridge University cricket team in 1971 and 1972 and had the distinction of being the winning captain against an international touring side, his own national team, Pakistan, in 1971; such a feat was only last achieved by a Cambridge University cricket team in 1927, against the touring New Zealand team. Khan also scored a double century against Oxford University in the 'University Match' in 1970 at the Lord's cricket ground. His father, Dr. Jahangir Khan, famously killed a bird in flight while bowling during an MCC vs. Cambridge University match in 1936. This bird is now part of the permanent MCC museum exhibit at Lord's Cricket ground. Dr. Jahangir Khan was the Chief Selector of then Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP) when Majid Khan was close to national selection. Dr. Jahangir Khan resigned from his post to maintain the impartiality of the Cricket Board during selection. == International career ==

In 1964, Majid's Test career started against Australia at National Stadium, Karachi. Majid Khan is one of only six batsmen (the other five are Trumper, Macartney, Bradman, Warner and Shikhar Dhawan), to have scored a century before lunch on the first day of a test match, scoring 108 not-out off 78 balls against New Zealand in Karachi during the 1976–77 test series. Khan made his ODI debut against New Zealand in 1973 at Lancaster Park, New Zealand. He 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 with 16 fours and a six, leading Pakistan to victory. In 1972 he won the Walter Lawrence Trophy for the season's fastest century which he scored in 70 minutes for Glamorgan against Warwickshire. He captained the Welsh county between 1973 and 1976, scored over 9000 runs punctuated with 21 first-class centuries for them. Imran Khan, the legendary Pakistani ex-captain and fast bowler, and Javed Burki are his cousins. Bazid Khan, Majid's son, has also played for Pakistan, making the family the second, after the Headleys, to have three consecutive generations of Test cricketers. Initially, Majid Khan continued to boost Pakistan's middle order until he was promoted to fill the opener's slot with Sadiq Mohammad in 1974. He was the first century scorer for Pakistan in One Day International Cricket, scoring 109 runs against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham in the same season. Majid Khan was also a specialist slip fielder and made most catches look easy. Khan was also well known as a "walker", maintaining the standards of the game in an era when professionalism was straining at the game's traditional etiquette. 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 Pakistan from likely defeat. Pakistan lost that series 2–1.{{citation|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63186.html|title=Pakistan tour of West Indies, 1976/77 / Scorecard – Pakistan in West Indies Test Series – 3rd Test == Playing style ==

In a 2020 feature on Pakistan's most stylish batsmen, Shamya Dasgupta describes Majid Khan as an elegant right-hander, "left-hand stylish" in effect, renowned for flowing drives and pulls and a relaxed, sophisticated bearing at the crease; though some critics mistook this for indifference, his long and successful first-class and Test career belied that view. == Post-retirement ==

Administration career After retirement from International Cricket, Khan became an administrator with the Pakistan Cricket Board, becoming the CEO of the board in the mid-1990s. He was the Chief Selector for Pakistan in 1993. He officiated the Australia and West Indies Test series in 1995 as a match-referee. He was the Chief Executive of the Pakistan Board but resigned after levelling match-fixing allegations against the Pakistan team in the 1999 World Cup. His claims were backed by Sarfraz Nawaz at the time but led to no prosecutions. He now lives in Islamabad. == Bibliography ==