Abdul Aziz Durrani

Abdul Aziz Durrani (15 August 1905 – 1 January 1979) was an Afghan-born Indian cricket coach and first-class cricketer.[3] He played as a wicket-keeper and batsman for Sind and Nawanagar in the Ranji Trophy. He was the father of India Test cricketer Salim Durani.[4]

Abdul Aziz
Personal information
Full name
Abdul Aziz Durrani
Born(1905-08-15)15 August 1905
Kabul,[1] Emirate of Afghanistan
Died1 January 1979(1979-01-01) (aged 73)
NicknameMaster Aziz[2]
BattingRight-handed
RoleWicket-keeper
RelationsSalim Durani (son)
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1932–1936Sind
1936–1938Nawanagar
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 19
Runs scored 394
Batting average 14.59
100s/50s 0/3
Top score 89
Catches/stumpings 23/11
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 10 September 2022

Career

News of Aziz's skills as a cricketer spread as he travelled to India from Afghanistan to play. He was a part of the Indian team that played two unofficial Tests against the visiting Australian side in 1935–36. After the passing of Jam Sahib Ranjitsinhji, his successor, in rebuilding the team, included Aziz in the Nawanagar team that played in the Ranji Trophy alongside bowlers such as Amar Singh, Mubarak Ali and Shute Banerjee. Impressed by his wicket-keeping and batting performances for Nawanagar in their tour of Karachi in 1935, he was offered a job as a sub-inspector by the then Jam Sahib Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji, which was when the former's family settled in Jamnagar.[5] With Nawanagar, Aziz won the third season of the Ranji Trophy, in 1936–37.[6]

After India's partition in 1947, Aziz moved to Pakistan, while his family stayed in Jamnagar. Once there, he began his career as a coach, working in the Sindh Madrassah School in Karachi. Future Pakistan national cricketer Hanif Mohammad was his student there.[2][6][7][8]

References
  1. "Witnessing history, Durani keen to revisit Kabul". Sportstar. 14 June 2018.
  2. Oborne, Peter (2015). Wounded Tiger: A History of Cricket in Pakistan. Simon & Schuster. p. 147. ISBN 9781849832489. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  3. "Forgotten Great | Sports | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk.
  4. Abdul Aziz at CricketArchive (subscription required)
  5. Bezbaruah, Ajit (1 June 2011). "Durani, an enigma mired in controversy". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  6. Guha, Ramachandra (2 September 2001). "A man from Kabul". The Hindu. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  7. "Obituary: Hanif Mohammed". Wisden. 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  8. Ahmed, Qamar (13 August 2016). "TRIBUTE: Hanif Mohammad — a genius of our time". Dawn. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
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