Inzamam-ul-Haq recalls Saeed Anwar pranking his Pakistani teammates

All of the kids who used to watch cricket in the 1990s must remember Pakistani opener Saeed Anwar, who used to torment the Indian cricket team with his wristy flicks and for the fact that he pummeled them for 194 runs in an ODI inning in 1997. He along with Inzamam-ul-Haq were one of the most likable cricketers from across the border.

Anwar had a stellar career for Pakistan where he captained the side as well. He played 55 Tests, making 4052 runs with 11 centuries, but he was more proficient in ODI cricket where he made 8824 runs in 247 matches with 20 centuries including the then world record score mentioned above. His career lasted from 1990-2003 with a break in between from 2001.

His teammate and former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq remember him as a fun-loving, witty and caring person who was always ready to help anyone in need at all times. The former chief selector recently regaled in tales of Anwar and recalled how Anwar used to prank his teammates and even team manager which led to some hilarious situations.

Inzamam recalls Saeed Anwar pranking manager 

Inzamam mentioned one incident when Anwar was captain of Pakistan and they lost a Test to South Africa in Faisalabad. Inzi says that Anwar and manager Haroon Rashid had cell phones which were new things at that time and the left-handed opener called the manager posing as PCB chairman Zulfiqar Bukhari.

“I was sitting with Saeed bhai, he called Haroon Rasheed and (pretended he was the chairman and) told him ‘What are these senior players doing, kick them all out, they don’t score’. Haroon bhai said he was thinking the same. Saeed bhai put the phone off and asked Haroon bhai, what are you saying to the chairman? Haroon bhai was ashamed and said it was [the] chairman so I humored him,” Inzamam said in his YouTube channel.

In another story, Anwar made Inzamam and Mushtaq Ahmed victims of his pranks. He recalls that one guy had to come and take both the players to get their passports made. Anwar pranked them by calling them and saying that he was that guy and called them at 5 am in the morning.

“He told us that we have to come down to get our passports done. We looked for him in the whole lobby and couldn’t find him. Then we got another call saying that he was near the coffee shop. We looked for him everywhere but couldn’t find him. Then we came back and saw Saeed bhai,” says Inzi.