The Pakistan cricket community is mourning the loss of former Test opener Mohammad Ilyas, who passed away in Lahore at the age of 79 following a period of illness. Known affectionately as ‘John’ by his close friends and peers, Ilyas was a fixture of Pakistan’s top order during the 1960s and remained a colorful, if often controversial, figure in the sport for decades.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi expressed his condolences to the family, acknowledging Ilyas’s “valuable services to cricket” both as a player and later as a national selector.
A Career Defined by Natural Talent and Versatility
Born into a generation of cricketers who played during a transitional period for Pakistan, Ilyas didn’t initially set out to be a batter. In his youth, his first passion was actually boxing, where he competed as a flyweight at the school level. When he eventually turned to cricket, he started as a fast bowler before transitioning to leg-spin. However, his destiny changed during a school match in Faisalabad where, after being sent in as a nightwatchman, he scored a gritty half-century. That performance set him on the path to becoming an aggressive top-order batter known for his fearless hook shot.
Ilyas made his first-class debut at the remarkably young age of 15 for Lahore B in the 1961 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. His talent was evident early on, and by 1964, he earned his Test debut at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) against Australia. It was a historic match that also saw the debut of Australian legend Ian Chappell. Ilyas’s finest hour on the international stage came in 1965 against New Zealand in Karachi, where he scored his solitary Test century. Over the course of 10 Tests, he became known as an enterprising player who wasn’t afraid to take the game to the opposition.
Controversies and the “Kardar” Fallout
Despite his talent, Ilyas’s international career was cut short by his fiery temperament. His final tour with the national team to Australia and New Zealand in 1972-73 ended in infamy. Following an alleged physical altercation with Abdul Hafeez Kardar, the then-head of the BCCP (now PCB) and a towering figure in Pakistan’s establishment, Ilyas was unceremoniously removed from the squad. Given Kardar’s immense influence, the fallout effectively ended Ilyas’s Test career. He chose to remain in Australia for a time, playing Sydney grade cricket, before moving on to leagues in Scotland and Zimbabwe.
In his later years, Ilyas remained a constant presence in the headlines, often for his outspoken nature. After returning to Pakistan, he served on several national selection committees in the 2000s, but his tenures were frequently marked by public disputes. From threatening hunger strikes at the Gaddafi Stadium to high-profile disagreements with stars like Shahid Afridi and defending his son-in-law, Imran Farhat, Ilyas never shied away from a confrontation. Even his final stint as a junior selector in 2014 ended in a legal battle against the PCB. While his statistics—4,607 first-class runs and a Test century—tell one story, his legacy is that of a man who lived and breathed the game with an uncompromising, independent spirit.
