81 -year -old Mushtaq Mohammad was born in Junagadh, Gujarat. He now lives in Birmingham and is happy to stay there but wants to go to the place where he was born. When Mushtaq used to play cricket, he came to India twice. He first came to India for playing Test series in 1961 and then in 1978 for Dilip Sardesai in Ahmedabad for a profitable match. Mushtaq Mohammed wanted to go to Junagadh on both occasions from where he moved to Karachi at the age of six. Due to his busy schedule, he could not go to Junagadh and even after decades it remains his incomplete desire.
Mushtaq Mohammed is now settled in Birmingham. Being a Pakistani, it is complex for him to get an Indian visa and he experienced it a few years ago, traveling around the Indian High Commission here. He wanted to attend the wedding of his old friend Bishan Singh Bedi’s daughter but did not get a visa on time.
Mushtaq Mohammed said, ‘I would like to go to the place where I was born. I went closest to going to Junagadh when I played the match for Dilip Sardesai in Ahmedabad. I could take a train for Junagadh, but the program was very busy. After making his debut at the age of fifteen, the former all -rounder, who played 57 Test matches for Pakistan, said, “Unfortunately I could never go to India after that.”
Mushtaq Mohammad has maintained an association with Gujarat through language. They understand Gujarati language well but they cannot speak or read it. Mushtaq became emotional while talking about his good friend Bishan Singh Bedi, who is no longer in this world. The former Pakistan all -rounder has credited Bedi till date that he made him a leg -spinner, when no one else took his bowling seriously. Mushtaq took 79 wickets in Tests and scored 3543 runs.
He said, ‘Bishan was a funny person. He loved cricket. We played together for six years in North Committees. Our families had a lot of love for each other. I recently met the Bedi family in London. Zaheer Abbas was also there. I can’t forget the days spent with them. Losing them is very sad, just memories remain.
Mushtaq was also a good friend of other Indian cricketers, including Sunil Gavaskar (whom he met during Edgbaston Test) and Kapil Dev. He said, ‘Gavaskar was the best batsman of my time. He scored several centuries against the West Indies and that too without a helmet. It was incredible.
Every country wants to play with India
Mushtaq also said that in the present time every country wants to play from India. He said, ‘There is no doubt that Indian cricket is at the top. Everyone wants to play with India. One thing that is close to my heart is to play India in their countries with Pakistan. This is the biggest rivalry. They do not play against each other and it is sad that it has nothing to do with cricket.
Rishabh Pant is Shahid Afridi of India
Mushtaq is a big fan of Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli among the current Indian players. He said, ‘Rishabh Pant is Shahid Afridi of India, but when he has a bat in his hand, he is better than Afridi. We also watch IPL with great fervor. Mushtaq said, ‘Kohli could play two more years. They should have been with the Test team. Don’t know why he retired.