Masood second Pakistani to enter US Cricket Hall of Fame

KARACHI Former first class cricketer Masood Akhtar has become the second Pakistani American after Mushtaq Muhammad to be inducted in the US Cricket Hall of Fame recently. According to information received here, Masood Akhtar who played for Karachi, PIA, PWD, Pakistan Universities, Pakistan Schools and the USA was given the unique honour along with Indian skipper Ajit Wadekar, Clifford Hinds and Hugh Pitter of the USA, in the latest USA Cricket Association list of honour. All the three were honoured for making outstanding contributions to the sport in the US. Masood Akhtar, who had been associated with the USA cricket for over two decades, was awarded the honour for his long list of achievements in cricket in Pakistan and the USA where he was shifted many years ago. A long time player, chairman selection committee, 12 times Chicago full marathon runner and administrator to the game and a physiotherapist of the USA team, Masood Akhtar was recently awarded the 'ICC Medal of Honour. Masood, who now lives in Glendale Heights, a Chicago suburb, has helped organise free youth clinics in various suburbs, help provide fields for local cricket leagues in the area and had a hand in forming eight leagues in the Central East Region of the USA. Ajit Wadekars name will forever be linked with 1971 when he led the Indian team to historic triumphs in the West Indies and England. He was one of the best No 3 batsmen in the history of Indian cricket. Hinds, a pioneer of the sport in New York, who has served with the United States of America Cricket Association for many years, has helped to develop many aspects of the sport in the state. He was awarded a medal of honour from the International Cricket Conference (ICC) for making significant contributions to the game in the US. Masood Akhtar will share the honour with cricket greats like Frank Worrell, Garry Sobers, Cydle Walcott, Sunil Gavaskar, Greg Chappell, Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer and many other top names of cricket. Complete list of cricketers who were inducted previously in the hall of fame: Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Clyde Walcott, Alfred Valentine, Wesley Hall, Tom Ewart, Sunil Gavaskar, Farokh Engineer, Greg Chappell, Bhagwat Chandrasekar, Alvin Kallicharran, Syed Abid Ali, Mushtaq Mohammed, Gordon Greenidge, Joel Garner, George Headley, Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Conrad Hunte, Desmond Haynes, Clive Lloyd, Sir Vivian Richards, Gundappa Viswanath, Michael Holding, Anderson (Andy) Roberts, Tony Becca, Tony Greig, Kerry Packer (posthumously), Chetan Chauhan, Lance Gibbs.