Mohammad Nissar: India's fastest pre-partition bowler

29th April 1932: Left, Nazir Ali and right, Mahomed Nissar members of the All-India cricket team touring England. (Photo by J. Gaiger/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

“Nissar was a magnificent bowler and a great sportsman, who was an asset to any team of his time. A great slip fielder who could bring off surprising catches in spite of his weight. I have not seen a faster bowler than him in this sub-continent.”

These were the words used by Indian all-rounder Jahangir Khan (father of Majid Khan and uncle of Imran Khan), who played India’s first 4 Tests, to describe his teammate Mohammad Nissar.

Mohammad Nissar was India’s first pace bowler, and possibly still the fastest ever to play for the country. He played in India’s maiden Test against England at Lord’s in 1932, and has the distinction of bowling the first delivery, and also taking the first wicket by an Indian bowler. In the first innings, he destroyed the English batting with a spell of 5 for 93. He knocked over the stumps of Percy Holmes and Herbert Sutcliffe, who had added 555 for the first wicket for Yorkshire only ten days earlier.

Born on 1st August, 1910 at Hoshiarpur, Punjab (India), Mohammad Nissar played his early cricket in Prince of Wales College, Jammu and Islamia and Government Colleges, Lahore. But essentially, he was a product of Minto Park, Lahore’s famous nursery of cricketers. It was at the nets of Minto Park that Nissar practised to build up his legendary stamina and speed.

Interestingly, Nissar began his cricket career as a batsman, that too an opening batsman. However, later, as his bowling proved more effective, he moved down to the tail-end of the batting order.

In the trials held to select the Indian team for touring England, Nissar took six wickets for 68 runs. Nissar was selected in the team for his bowling, but in a tour game, showed his batting prowess too. In the match against Lancashire at Liverpool, with the team reeling at 399 for 9, Nissar added an invaluable 94 runs for the last wicket with Amar Singh.

He went on to forge a legendary bowling partnership with Amar Singh, which was very successful, though cut short by Amar’s very early demise from a bout of severe pneumonia.

CK Nayudu, India’s first Test captain, believed that Nissar was quicker than England’s legendary bowler Harold Larwood, who was widely considered to be the fastest bowler in the game’s history. Having faced both bowlers in his career, Nayudu was in no doubt on who was faster.

“Early in his spells, Nissar was quicker than even Larwood.” Nayudu made this statement after the India’s inaugural Test in which both fast bowlers played for their respective countries.

India’s first Test centurion, Lala Amarnath, owes a lot to Nissar for his career. He has gone on record to state that he could never forget Nissar’s help in 1933-34.

A young Amarnath had come to Bombay for the all-India trials and had miserably failed in the first trial, when he was sent to open the innings. Nissar realized that Amarnath had not been given a fair trial because his usual position was number three, and took it on himself to approach the selectors on his behalf.

On Nissar’s recommendation, Amarnath was given another chance, and he scored 49 and 79 not out to be selected eventually. “Had he not helped me that day, perhaps I would not have played for India at all.”

In his six Test appearances, Nissar took 25 wickets at an average of 28.28 and three five-wicket hauls. On his two English tours, the second one in 1936, he took a total of 137 wickets in all first-class matches at an average of 21.4.

He touched top form against the Aussie team, led by Jack Ryder, which toured India in 1935-36, and he captured 32 wickets in four unofficial Tests at an excellent average of 12.9. Ryder later described him as one of the best fast bowlers in the world.

Sir Don Bradman later talked about the duo of Nissar and Amar Singh, saying, “Two great Indians never to visit Australia were Nissar and Amar Singh, but my Test selector colleague and Test Captain Jack Ryder played against them in India. Many nights I sat with him into the small hours being enthralled listening to his stories of their skill.”

Eminent cricket writer Neville Cardus described Nissar’s performance against the Aussies, saying, “Nissar’s speed during half a dozen overs was really capital; in every over we saw half-hit defensive strokes, untidy, uncertain.”

Nissar never sought to be pampered or given special status, even at the pinnacle of his career. The following famous incident illustrates that trait in him.

The Lahore Government College team was leaving for Delhi to play a few friendly matches. Having just returned from the tour of England, Nissar came to know about the trip and enquired if he could accompany the team. The team members told him, “Sheikh Sahib, this is not the type of tour for a cricketer of your stature to undertake. We’ll be travelling in third class and may not be able to billet you decently in Delhi.”

Nissar would hear nothing of it, and travelled with the team. In those days, the Feroz Shah Kotla lacked even basic amenities for players. But Nissar had no complaints and said, “I have come to play cricket and not enjoy luxuries”.

After the second World War broke out in 1939, international cricket came to a halt. Nissar continued playing first-class cricket in the Ranji Trophy, first for Southern Punjab and later for United Provinces. He represented Muslims in the Bombay Pentangular tournament.

Mohammad Nissar had joined the ‘Bengal and North Western Railway’ as Assistant Traffic Superintendent, and after partition decided to move to Pakistan with Pakistan Western Railways. Nissar’s charming nature and sense of humour won him a lot of admirers.

Once a railway official was engaged in a heated argument with a cricket commentator who had said, “India’s fastest bowler is working for India’s slowest railway (BNWR)”, Nissar intervened and changed an unpleasant situation into a pleasant one by exchanging a witty repartee with the commentator.

Mohammad Nissar

He was one of the founders of the Pakistan Cricket Board and worked as an administrator and a selector. He captained the Pakistan’s Commander-in-Chief’s XI against West Indies in 1948 and Ceylon in 1950.

Nissar died at Lahore in 1963 at the age of 52.

In 2006, the Indian and Pakistan cricket boards started an annual match between the winners of Ranji trophy and Quaid-e-Azam trophy, and named the event the Nissar Trophy.

India’s first great batsman Vijay Merchant paid the best tribute to Nissar, when he said, “What a great fast bowler he was! He was the best and the fastest I have ever played against. In my time I played against Larwood, Voce, Bowes, Allen and Gover. The first two were past their best when I played them and the other three did not come up to the standard of Nissar. I have not seen a more accurate fast bowler.”