PM Imran hails late Abdul Qadir as a 'genius' and 'greatest of all time'

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday paid a glowing tribute to former Pakistan spin legend Abdul Qadir. The former leg-spinner passed away late on Friday after suffering a cardiac arrest. 

In a message posted on the social networking platform Twitter, PM Imran expressed his grief over the death of Qadir and offered his condolences to the family of the deceased. 

"Deeply saddened to hear of Abdul Qadir's passing. My prayers and condolences go to the family," the prime minister tweeted.

PM Imran added that Qadir was one of the greatest spinners of all time, and hailed the former cricketer as a genius. The premier reflected fondly to his time with Qadir, saying the spinner was witty and humorous.  

"Abdul Qadir was a genius, one of the greatest leg spinners of all time. And he was also the life of the dressing room entertaining the team with his wit and humour," the prime minister said. 

According to the premier, the bowling statistics of the spin maestro do not do justice to the genius of Abdul Qadir, as Qadir played cricket in a different time under different rules. 

"Had he been playing cricket now with the modern DRS system, where batsmen can be given out on the front foot as well, Qadir would have gotten as many wickets as the great Shane Warne," Khan remarked. 

Abdul Qadir was known as the dancing bowler due to his unique bowling style and is widely regarded as a leg-spinning pioneer who revived the great art in his era. 

Tributes from across the cricketing world have poured in for Qadir, who played his first Test against England at Lahore on Dec 14, 1977, and his first ODI against New Zealand at Birmingham on Jun 11, 1983.

Qadir was an integral part of Pakistan's most successful sides in the 1980s and a valuable mentor to modern spin legends Shane Warne and Mushtaq Ahmed, among others.