Aftab Baloch died on January 24, 2022, aged 68. He played two Test matches, and was remembered in the 2023 Wisden Almanack.
Aftab Baloch, who passed away on January 24 at the age of 68, was a child prodigy who made his debut for Pakistan’s first team in August 1969 at the age of just 16 and scored 77 runs. Three months later, and three centuries later, he was called up for the third Test against New Zealand in Dhaka. At the time, he was the second youngest Test player after Mushtaq Mohammad (15 years old in the 1958/59 season) to earn his place. Baruch managed 25, but he was quickly forgotten. Four seasons later, he scored 428 runs, the second highest by a Pakistani player after Hanif Mohammad’s 499 runs, as Sindh responded to Balochistan’s 93 runs with 915 for 7, winning by an innings and 575 runs. . This earned him a place on the 1974 tour of England, where he was allocated room 428 and caused a stir in the hotel, but managed only 101 runs in total and was unable to get past a good Test team. could not. The following winter he won another cap against the West Indies, scoring 60 runs for Lahore. However, he was finally fired when he was only 21 years old.
“It was a shame he wasn’t given more chances,” said former Test all-rounder Nasim ul Ghani. “In addition to being a skilled middle-order batsman, he was agile, performed well as a cover-point fielder, and was more than practical as an off-break bowler.” Baloch played in domestic cricket until 1984/85. and scored over 9,000 runs. He made 41 centuries, including 20, during which he enjoyed success in the Lancashire League. He turned into a coach and oversaw Pakistan’s victory in the 2006 U-19 World Cup. He then led the Nepal national team. His father, Shamsher Baloch and his younger brother Kalimullah were also first-class cricketers.
Aftab Baloch made a quadruple century in first-class cricket.
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