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{{short description|ICC president & Pakistani cricketer (born 1947)}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=July 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = Zaheer Abbas<br />ظہیر عباس
| honorific_suffix = [[Pride of Performance|PP]]
| image=
| caption=Zaheer Abbas as the President of [[International Cricket Council]] in 2016.
| full_name = Syed Zaheer Abbas
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|7|24|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Sialkot]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], British India
| batting= Right-handed
| bowling= Right-arm offbreak
| country = Pakistan
| international = true
| internationalspan = 1969-1985

| testcap = 63
| testdebutagainst = New Zealand
| testdebutdate = 24 October
| testdebutyear = 1969
| lasttestdate = 27 October
| lasttestyear = 1985
| lasttestagainst = Sri Lanka

| odicap = 13
| odidebutagainst = England
| odidebutdate = 31 August
| odidebutyear =1974
| lastodidate = 3 November
| lastodiyear = 1985
| lastodiagainst = Sri Lanka

| columns = 3
| column1 = [[Test cricket|Test]]
| column2 = [[One Day International|ODI]]
| column3 = [[First-class cricket|FC]]
| matches1 = 78
| matches2 = 62
| matches3 = 457
| runs1 = 5,062
| runs2 = 2,572
| runs3 = 34,843
| bat avg1 = 44.79
| bat avg2 = 47.62
| bat avg3 = 51.54
| 100s/50s1 = 12/20
| 100s/50s2 = 7/13
| 100s/50s3 = 108/158
| top score1 = 274
| top score2 = 123
| top score3 = 274
| deliveries1 = 370
| deliveries2 = 280
| deliveries3 = 2,582
| wickets1 = 3
| wickets2 = 7
| wickets3 = 30
| bowl avg1 = 44.00
| bowl avg2 = 31.85
| bowl avg3 = 38.20
| fivefor1 = 0
| fivefor2 = 0
| fivefor3 = 1
| tenfor1 = 0
| tenfor2 = 0
| tenfor3 = 0
| best bowling1 = 2/21
| best bowling2 = 2/26
| best bowling3 = 5/15
| catches/stumpings1 = 34/–
| catches/stumpings2 = 16/–
| catches/stumpings3 = 278/–
| source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1350/1350.html CricketArchive
| date = 6 November
| year = 2005
| module= {{ Infobox officeholder
| office = [[List of International Cricket Council presidents|President of International Cricket Council]]
| embed = yes
| term_start = 2015
| term_end = 2016
| predecessor = [[Mustafa Kamal (politician)|Mustafa Kamal]]
| successor = Office abolished
}}}}
'''Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani''' [[Pride of Performance|PP]], (in Punjabi and [[Urdu]]: سید ظہیر عباس کرمانی; born 24 July 1947), popularly known as '''Zaheer Abbas''', is a Pakistani former [[cricket]]er. He is among the few professional cricketers who used to wear [[spectacles]] in the cricket ground. In 1982/1983, he became the first batsman to score three consecutive centuries in [[One Day International|one-day internationals]].<ref>[http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/282969.html Hundreds in consecutive innings] espncricinfo.com Retrieved 7 July 2019</ref> Sometimes known as 'the Asian [[Don Bradman|Bradman]]', Zaheer Abbas is regarded as one of the finest batsmen in the history of cricket.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/43695.html |title=Zaheer Abbas |website=Cricinfo}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/zaheer-abbas-10-anecdotes-about-the-asian-bradman-506235 |title=Zaheer Abbas: 10 anecdotes about the Asian Bradman |first=Nishad Pai |last=Vaidya |date=24 July 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.samaa.tv/sports/2017/07/asian-bradman-zaheer-abbas-celebrating-70th-birthday-today/ |title=Asian Bradman Zaheer Abbas celebrating 70th birthday today - Samaa TV |website=www.samaa.tv|access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref> In August 2020, he was inducted into the [[ICC Cricket Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/29722425/jacques-kallis,-zaheer-abbas-lisa-sthalekar-enter-icc-hall-fame |title=Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Abbas and Lisa Sthalekar enter ICC's Hall of Fame |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=23 August 2020}}</ref>

==Cricket career==
Abbas made his [[Test cricket|Test]] match debut in 1969; in his second Test he scored 274 against [[England cricket team|England]], which is still the sixth-ever highest score by a Pakistani batsman.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Most runs in an innings in Tests |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/most-runs-in-an-innings-208504 |access-date=23 September 2025 |website=www.espncricinfo.com}}</ref> This was the first of his four Test double-centuries; only two men from [[Pakistan]] ([[Younis Khan]] and [[Javed Miandad]]) have scored more.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cricinfo.com/db/STATS/TESTS/BATTING/LEADING_BATSMEN_TEST_200S.html |title=Test Records – Most double hundreds in a career |publisher=cricinfo.com website|access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref> The last was an innings of 215 against [[India cricket team|India]] in 1983, the first of three centuries in consecutive Tests, and his [[hundredth first-class century]]; Abbas and [[Geoffrey Boycott]] are the only two batsmen to have scored their hundredth first-class century in a Test match.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63329.html |title=1st Test, India tour of Pakistan at Lahore, Dec 10-15 1982 - Match Summary - ESPNCricinfo |website=ESPNcricinfo}}</ref>

Abbas had great success in [[first-class cricket]], and is the only Asian batsman to score one hundred first-class centuries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Records/Firstclass/Overall/Most_Centuries.html |title=Most centuries in first-class cricket |access-date=19 January 2007 |archive-date=16 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016233449/http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Records/Firstclass/Overall/Most_Centuries.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> He had a long stint with [[Gloucestershire County Cricket Club|Gloucestershire]]; joining the county in 1972, he remained there for thirteen years. During that time he scored over a thousand runs in the majority of his thirteen seasons. He also made over two thousand runs in a single season on two occasions for the club (1976 and 1981). During those thirteen years at Gloucestershire, he played 206 first-class games, scoring over 16,000 runs. He averaged 49.79, hitting 49 hundreds and 76 fifties. Abbas is the only player to have scored a century and double century in a first-class match four times, finishing each of the eight innings [[not out]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Lynch |first=Steven |title=How many people have scored a double-century and a hundred in the same first-class match? |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/565465.html |work=Ask Steven - Cricinfo.com |access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref>

[[Sunil Gavaskar]], the former Indian Test captain, once said while commentating that the Indian players would often say to Zaheer, ''"Zaheer Ab-bas karo"'', which means "Zaheer, stop it now" in [[Urdu]] and [[Hindi]], referring to Abbas' free scoring.

Abbas had two stints as captain of the national team in 1981 and 1984. He retired from international cricket in 1985, and has officiated as a match referee in one Test and three ODI matches. He has also worked as the manager of the national team. Zaheer was one of the players who was famous for his title. In 2018 Government of Pakistan awarded him Sitara-e-Imtiaz.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ukskys.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820074442/http://ukskys.com/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=20 August 2022|title=Abbas awarded sitara e imtiaz|date=15 August 2022|work=[[Geo News]]|access-date=22 March 2015}}</ref> In 2015 he became [[ICC president]], the third cricketer after [[Colin Cowdrey]] and [[Clyde Walcott]], to hold the post.<ref name="Zed">{{cite web | url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/blogs/content/story/908629.html | title=In praise of Zed | publisher=ESPN Cricinfo | date=August 13, 2015 | access-date=August 14, 2015 | author=Abbasi, Kamran | author-link=Kamran Abbasi}}</ref>

Zaheer Abbas held the record for scoring the most runs by any batsman in a 4 match bilateral ODI series (346 runs) from 1982 to 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.howstat.com/cricket/Statistics/Batting/BattingHighSeries_ODI.asp|title=HowSTAT! ODI Cricket – Most Runs in Series|website=www.howstat.com|access-date=2017-03-09}}</ref> The record was broken by [[Hashim Amla]] of South Africa in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Batting records {{!}} One-Day Internationals {{!}} Cricinfo Statsguru {{!}} ESPNcricinfo.com|url=https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=2;filter=advanced;orderby=runs;qualmax1=4;qualmin1=4;qualval1=matches;template=results;type=batting;view=series|access-date=2020-07-30|website=Cricinfo}}</ref>

[[File:Zaheer Abbas graph.png|center|thumb|500px|Zaheer Abbas's career performance graph.]]

== Playing style and legacy ==
In 2001, Agha Akbar portrayed Zaheer Abbas as a lyric, fluent stroke-maker defined by precision and timing: a high, elegant backlift and supple, powerful wrists let him switch seamlessly between back and front foot, even mid-stroke, and thread gaps to score a high proportion of boundaries. His 274 at Edgbaston in only his second Test is cited as a breakthrough that dispelled doubts about his technique in seam-friendly conditions, showcasing prolonged concentration and effortless control over nine hours at the crease.<ref name="Akbar2001">{{cite web |last=Akbar |first=Agha |date=6 March 2001 |title=Zaheer Abbas: The Asian Bradman |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/zaheer-abbas-the-asian-bradman-104683 |access-date=4 October 2025 |website=ESPNcricinfo}}</ref>

In a 2010 tribute, [[Alastair Hignell]] portrays Zaheer Abbas as a classically upright and elegant batter with razor-sharp reflexes, a high, twirling backlift, and late, wristy stroke-play that made run-scoring look effortless; despite spectacles, he is described as seeing the ball early and threading gaps with authority. Nicknamed the "Asian Bradman", Abbas made four double hundreds among his 12 Test centuries, including 274 at Edgbaston in 1971 and 240 at The Oval in 1974, and, for [[Gloucestershire County Cricket Club|Gloucestershire]], uniquely compiled a double-century and a hundred in the same match on four occasions (all eight innings unbeaten), feats achieved despite three-day county games and first-innings over limits.<ref name="Hignell2010">{{cite web |last=Hignell |first=Alastair |date=29 November 2010 |title=The art of Z |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/alastair-hignell-on-his-favourite-cricketer-zaheer-abbas-489525 |access-date=4 October 2025 |website=ESPNcricinfo}}</ref>

In a 2013 statistical analysis, S Rajesh highlights [[Virat Kohli]]’s exceptional ODI record at No. 3: by Oct 2013, ten of his 16 ODI centuries had come from that position, yielding a century every 7.1 innings, around three times better than the average No. 3 (one every ~25 innings; ~20 since 2010). The only other No. 3 with a sub-8 rate is Zaheer Abbas, who scored six hundreds in 47 innings at No. 3 (7.83 innings per hundred), averaging 45.65 with a strike rate of 85.74 at that position (career ODI: 47.62 at 84.80).<ref name="Rajesh2013">{{cite web |last=Rajesh |first=S |date=18 October 2013 |title=Chasing glory |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/numbers-game-kohli-chasing-glory-680209 |access-date=4 October 2025 |website=ESPNcricinfo}}</ref>

In a 2015 contribution, [[Kamran Abbasi]] lauds Zaheer Abbas’s batting as classically elegant all around the wicket, especially his [[Cover drive (cricket)|cover drive]], emphasizing his tall reach, brief shuffle then poised stillness at the crease, and late, wristy stroke-play that threaded off-side gaps and flicked straighter balls to leg. He argues Abbas was difficult to bowl to and, despite a refined long-form reputation, scored at a tempo suited to one-day cricket, excelling particularly against spin. AA his peak, Abbas is noted as having some vulnerability to short fast bowling, contextualized by the pre-helmet era’s harsher conditions.<ref name="Abbasi2015">{{cite web |last=Abbasi |first=Kamran |date=13 August 2015 |title=In praise of Zed |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/kamran-abbasi-in-praise-of-zaheer-abbas-908629 |access-date=4 October 2025 |website=ESPNcricinfo}}</ref>

In 2019, Osman Samiuddin included Zaheer Abbas in an all-time Pakistan World Cup XI, at No. 3, arguing he was ahead of his era as an ODI batter: in the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, his strike rate was close to 85, among players with 1000+ ODI runs, trailing only [[Kapil Dev]] and [[Viv Richards]], underscoring his modern scoring tempo.<ref name="Samiuddin2019">{{cite web |last=Samiuddin |first=Osman |date=2 April 2019 |title=All-time Pakistan World Cup XI |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/osman-samiuddin-s-all-time-pakistan-world-cup-xi-1178980 |access-date=4 October 2025 |website=ESPNcricinfo}}</ref>

Writing in 2020 about Pakistan's five most stylish batsmen, Shamya Dasgupta depicts Zaheer Abbas as an almost "perfect" right-hand batter, classical, fluent and reliable, whose elegance did not diminish his productivity. He averaged 44.79 in Tests overall, rising to 56.06 in England (and 40.62 in Australia), and was famed for boundary-laden innings that sliced through attacks "like a knife through butter." Cast as the stylistic foil to [[Viv Richards]], precision and silk versus power, Abbas, he argues, mesmerised spectators with timing, placement and effortless stroke-play.<ref name="DasguptaStylish2020">{{cite web |last=Dasgupta |first=Shamya |date=10 August 2020 |title=Pakistan's five most stylish batsmen |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/pakistan-s-five-most-stylish-batsmen-1229112 |access-date=4 October 2025 |website=ESPNcricinfo}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Zaheer Abbas married Indian born Rita Luthra (now known as Samina Abbas) in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/calcutta-times/Zaheer-Abbas-to-visit-Kanpur-sasural-for-ODI/articleshow/1075807.cms|title=Zaheer Abbas to visit Kanpur sasural for ODI|website=[[The Times of India]] |date=12 April 2005 }}</ref>

His first marriage was to Najma Bokhari with whom he has three daughters, Rudabah, Roshana and Hiba.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Zaheer Abbas - a flourishing talent|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/152271.html|access-date=2021-04-04|website=Cricinfo}}</ref>

==Autobiography==
In 1983 he co-wrote his autobiography ''Zed'' with the British cricket journalist [[David Foot (journalist)|David Foot]].

==Awards and recognition==
*[[Pride of Performance]] Award in 1971 by the [[Government of Pakistan]]<ref>[http://www.sports.gov.pk/Awards/award_cricket.htm Pride of Performance Award for Zaheer Abbas in 1971 on Pakistan Sports Board website] Retrieved 7 July 2019</ref>
*Inducted in [[ICC Cricket Hall of Fame]] in 2020.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/704937-zaheer-abbas-inducted-into-icc-hall-of-fame|title=Zaheer Abbas inducted into ICC Hall of Fame|publisher=The News International|access-date=26 August 2020}}</ref>
*Inducted in PCB Hall of Fame in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PCB Hall of Fame {{!}} Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Official Website |url=https://www.pcb.com.pk/pcb-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=2022-03-13 |website=www.pcb.com.pk |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{ESPNcricinfo|id=43695}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-sports}}
{{Succession box
|before= [[Javed Miandad]]
|title= [[Pakistani national cricket captains|Pakistan Cricket Captain]]
|years= 1981–1982
|after= [[Imran Khan]]
}}
{{Succession box
|before= [[Sarfraz Nawaz]]
|title= [[Pakistani national cricket captains|Pakistan Cricket Captain]]
|years= 1984–1985
|after= [[Imran Khan]]
}}
{{succession box
|before=[[Mustafa Kamal (politician)|Mustafa Kamal]]
|title=[[List of ICC presidents|President of the ICC]]
|years=2015–2016
|after=Position abolished|
}}
{{S-end}}
{{Presidents of ICC}}
{{Pakistan Test Cricket Captains}}
{{Pakistan ODI Cricket Captains}}
{{PCA Player of the Year}}
{{Navboxes
|title= Pakistan squads
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|bordercolor=limegreen
|list1=
{{Pakistan Squad 1975 Cricket World Cup}}
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}}
{{Batsmen who have scored 100 first-class centuries}}
{{World XI Tour of Australia 1971/72}}
{{Pride of Performance for Sports}}
{{ICC Cricket Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbas, Zaheer}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Cricketers from Sialkot]]
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Zaheer Abbas - Revision history

Bharatpediatrist: started new entry initial version