Hello Yahya, how are you?

One day, I suddenly received a phone call from Mr. Zaheer Abbas. I asked him how he was feeling, and he said, “I’m fine. Where are you?”

I replied, “I’m in Karachi.”

He said, “Yahya, have breakfast with me someday. It’s been a long time since we talked.”

I replied, “Of course, Mr. Zaheer Abbas, I’ll come to see you soon.”

One day, I went to meet Mr. Zaheer Abbas at his residence on Khayaban-e-Muhafiz in Defence, Karachi. He welcomed me with great warmth, and after shaking hands, he smiled and said, “Yahya, I watch your program ‘Score’. You host it very well. Ahmed Shehzad speaks nicely on your show.”

Then he said, “So, tell me, how Pakistan cricket is going?”

I replied, “Mr. Zaheer Abbas, you’re part of the PCB Governing Board you tell us.”

He said, “Look, Yahya, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is a very good person. He invited me to the Governing Board with great sincerity. During meetings, whenever cricket matters are discussed, I share my advice based on my experience.”

Zaheer Abbas is known as the Asian Bradman. Born on July 24, 1947, in Sialkot, the right-handed batsman represented Pakistan from 1969 to 1985, playing 78 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals. Zaheer Abbas was the first Pakistani batsman to score 5,000 runs in Test cricket.

Over a first-class career spanning 23 years (from 1965 to 1987), he played 459 matches and scored 34,843 runs at an average of 51.54. Zaheer Abbas also holds the record for the most first-class centuries by a Pakistani batsman 108 hundreds.

During our conversation, I asked Mr. Zaheer Abbas, “You played first-class cricket for a long time and were associated with Gloucestershire County in England. How would you compare the batsmen of your era with those of today?”

The Asian Bradman paused for a moment, looked at me, and said,

“Yahya, we only used to think about cricket. When we weren’t on national duty for Pakistan, I would go to England to play county cricket. Whenever I wasn’t scoring runs, I would identify my flaws right there on the ground and work on them.

Today’s players are good too, but perhaps there’s too much cricket now. At times, we can’t even keep track of who is playing where and with whom. But as a player, you have to prove yourself on the field and that preparation can only come through playing on the field.

Zaheer Abbas said, nowadays cricket has become somewhat easier; you can’t really compare it with our era.”

Mr. Zaheer Abbas asked me, “Will you be coming to England with the Pakistan team next year?”

I replied, “Yes, Mr. Zaheer Abbas, that’s the plan for now.”

He said, “Excellent, that’s good. Before Pakistan’s Tests in Leeds, London, and Birmingham, the launch of my book will take place ,we’ll definitely meet there.”

Mr. Zaheer Abbas told me that people in England still love him deeply, which is why his publisher has planned the book launch just before Pakistan’s Test series.

While spending time with Mr. Zaheer Abbas, I didn’t even realize how quickly the time passed.

Before taking my leave, I made a promise to Mr. Zaheer Abbas that our next meeting would include an interview.

He smiled and said, “Certainly.”