Ghulam Ahmed was an Indian cricketer, who represented India during the colonial rule of England. Ghulam Ahmed was born on 4 July 1922.
Ghulam Ahmed was an off spin bowler who captained India in Test cricket in colonial India. Ghulam Ahmed played the first-class cricket for Hyderabad (now in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh) from 1939 to 1940 to 1958 to 1959. Ghulam Ahmed also played 22 Tests for India from 1948-1949 to 1958-1959.
Ghulam Ahmed toured England in 1952 and Pakistan in 1954-1955. He captained India in one Test against New Zealand in 1955-1956, which was drawn, and two Tests against West Indies in 1958-1959, both of which India lost.
Ghulam Ahmed was the leading bowler on the 1952 tour to England. There Ghulam Ahmed took 80 wickets in first-class matches at 21.92 average, and 15 in the four Tests at 24.73. In the first innings of the first test, Ghulam Ahmed bowled 63 overs and took 5 for 100. In the match against Oxford University he took 8 for 84 and 5 for 66.
In the First Test against Pakistan in 1952-1953, the inaugural Test between the two neighbour"s countries, after independence, he took five wickets, and made 50 at number 11, putting on 109 for the tenth wicket with Hemu Adhikari, another famous Indian cricket player. In the Third Test against Australia in Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1956-1957, he took 7 for 49 and 3 for 81, his best Test innings and match figures.
The best match and innings in first-class figures of Ghulam Ahmed came in the match against Madras Cricket Team in the Ranji Trophy in 1947-48. There Ghulam Ahmed took 5 for 28 and 9 for 53. When Holkar Cricket Team made 757 against Hyderabad (now the capital of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh) in 1950-51 he had bowling figures of 92.3-21-245-4.
After retiring from cricket scenario, Ghulam Ahmed managed the Indian National Level Cricket team that toured Australia and New Zealand in 1967-68. Ghulam Ahmed was the uncle of the former captain of Pakistan Cricket Team, Asif Iqbal, and the great-uncle of Indian tennis player, Sania Mirza.
Ghulam Ahmed died on 28th October, 1998 in Hyderabad, now the capital city of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
