Qamar Ahmed (1937-2026), one of international cricket's most distinguished journalists and broadcasters, has died at the age of 89. His passing brings to a close a remarkable chapter in the history of cricket journalism, a career that spanned more than seven decades and 453 Test matches.
Few journalists travelled as widely or witnessed as much of the game's evolution as Ahmed, known affectionately to colleagues as "Q". From an era when copy was filed by telephone and photographs travelled separately from words, he continued reporting into the digital age, covering the 1,000th and 2,000th Test matches, nine World Cups, and some of the sport's most defining moments.
Born in Bihar, India, in 1937, Ahmed's earliest memories were shaped by the turmoil preceding Partition. During the communal violence of 1946, his family narrowly escaped death after a Hindu doctor, a colleague of his father, sheltered them for almost a month. Ahmed never forgot this act of courage and compassion, making a point of visiting the doctor's family whenever his work later took him to India.
Following Partition, the family settled in Hyderabad, Sindh, where Ahmed studied English literature. Cricket remained his first love. A capable left-arm spinner, he captained Hyderabad in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and harboured ambitions of representing Pakistan. He held the rare distinction of dismissing all three Mohammad brothers – Hanif, Sadiq and Mushtaq – on their first-class debuts. His favourite story was dismissing Hanif in the match before Hanif made his world record 499; Hanif had already made 129 by the time Qamar got him.
Regional selection biases persuaded Ahmed that his future lay in writing about the game rather than playing it. His journalistic career began with Pakistan Press International before he moved to London in 1964. From Britain, he reported on cricket for more than half a century, working extensively for the BBC while contributing to The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Freelancing enabled him to cover cricket through his own lens, free from institutional loyalties. He once remarked that for fifty years he had been "nobody's servant", a philosophy that characterised his professional life.
Ahmed was an eyewitness to many of Pakistan cricket's most significant moments, including the 1992 World Cup triumph, the 1976-77 pay dispute that marked a transition for the professionalisation of Pakistan's cricketers, and the terror attacks on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore in 2009. He also witnessed Sunil Gavaskar's 10,000th run, Richard Hadlee's 400th wicket and Anil Kumble's 10-wicket haul.
His nature was characterised as kind and generous, qualities admirable in a fiercely competitive profession. One story involved the lengths he went to in New Zealand to assist an Indian team led by Mohammad Azharuddin, even finding himself interrogated by local police over butchery regulations.
His 12 books, most notably his autobiography Far More Than A Game published in 2020, stand as testament to a life devoted to exploring and analysing cricket. He also wrote the autobiographies of Hanif Mohammad and Waqar Hasan. His narratives remained enriching and positive, even when describing uncomfortable relationships. In his writing on Imran Khan, there was no score-settling, simply an expression of sadness at how such a talented cricketer allowed his reputation to be tarnished.
Ahmed counted Mushtaq Mohammad and Zaheer Abbas among his closest friends. He belonged to a generation of correspondents for whom reporting was assessed not by speed but by accuracy, judgement and first-hand observation. Even after he stopped covering cricket regularly, he remained a fixture in cricket circles, attending the UK's Cricket Media Club lunch last October, where he seemed in good health and spirits. The third Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Sharjah in January 2014 marked his 400th Test as a journalist – a landmark achievement that only a handful have surpassed.
Qamar Ahmed redefined cricket writing and broadcasting on the Asian subcontinent, infusing the sport with life and creativity while making a testament that cricket transcends mere sport. His death concludes an extraordinary legacy in cricket's press-box history.
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*Freelance journalist
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