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Drawn 1960 series fascinating: Ahsan
"I still remember the 1960 visit as a fascinating tour where we enjoyed one of the greatest hospitalities by India," the former Pak offie said.
Pakistan's former off-spinner Hasib Ahsan has fond memories of his 1960 tour of India and remembers it as the most enjoyable and pleasant — but only off-the-field as the five-match series had ended in a dull and dreary draw.
"I still remember the 1960 visit as a fascinating tour where we enjoyed one of the greatest hospitalities ever extended by India," Ahsan said.
"We were looked after extremely well. Of course, the crowds were hostile during the matches and rightly so, because they were supporting their team. But off the field, it was different," Ahsan, who later served as chairman of Pakistan cricket selectors and Pakistan cricket team's manager for the 1987 World Cup, said in an interview.
The 66-year-old whose career was restricted to just 12 Tests in which he took 27 wickets because of a suspect bowling action, played in all the five Tests on that tour and took 15 wickets. His performances included six for 121 at Chennai and five for 121 at Green Park.
"We were treated as celebrities. People used to queue for hours to catch a glimpse of us. We witnessed fighting amongst fans for autographs. During the inter-city travel when the train used to stop at stations, people used to run behind our bogey."
"It was absolutely emotional. The entire team was touched by the generosity and love that was showered on us during that tour," recalled Ahsan, who now works as director of American Express.
However, Ahsan was critical of the cricket that was played on that tour.
"Both the captains (Fazal Mahmood and Nari Contractor) played defensive cricket because they were scared of losing. Docile and placid wickets were prepared for the series to achieve high scoring draws and the plan was a success.
"India was definitely an experienced team while Fazal Mahmood's players were ineffective because of the wickets. Also, we were on the tour without our inspirational skipper Abdul Hafeez Kardar," Ahsan said.
