Mushtaq Mohammad has been acclaimed as the most inspirational captain to have led the Pakistan team in the cricket field. One of the four Mohammad brothers having played for the country with distinction, he became the youngest Test player at the age of 16, a record broken by Hasan Raza many years later.
Besides being a prolific middle-order batsman, he was a more than useful leg-spinner. He made his Test debut against the West Indies in 1958-59. He galvanized the team into a well-knit unit after taking over as the captain in 1976-77 enabling Pakistan to win Tests abroad besides registering victories at home more frequently than before.
He played in 57 Tests in a career spread over a period of two decades, scoring 3,643 runs at 39.17 with the help of 10 centuries. He also took 79 wickets at 29.22. He got the opportunity of playing only 10 One-day Internationals in which he scored 209 runs at 34.83.
He has had quite a few stints as manager and coach of the national cricket team. He has also brought out his autobiography. Having played county cricket for Northamptonshire for a number of years, he has been living with his family in England for the past many decades.
