Well Kept: A man's cricket memorabilia

Cricket aficionado Amir Maqsood Hameedi bowls everyone over with his massive collection of cricket memorabilia

Pakistan’s cricket craze is undeniable. Painted faces, glitzy posters and fancy headgear sported during the recently-concluded Pakistan versus Zimbabwe series at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore bore testament to that. But one man’s fixation with the sport has taken the meaning of ‘fan’ to a whole new level.



Amir Maqsood Hameedi has never left Pakistan, but his assortment of cricket memorabilia, news clippings and books is not bound to a single nation or team. He has over 3,000 photographs, tickets from every Cricket World Cup, key chains, caps and over 2,500 books. “I have never visited any other country, but people who are aware of my passion always bring back items for me. These include tickets, key chains, caps and books,” says Hameedi. Well-known among cricketers, both national and international, Hameedi began collecting cricket related items, especially photographs and books, in the 1950s when he was only seven years old. Now 65, Hameedi is the proud owner of a roomful of priceless memorabilia from the cricketing world.

Amir Maqsood Hameedi has over 3,000 photographs in his collection. PHOTOS : ARIF SOOMRO

A selection of souvenir key chains from various countries, along with those sold during the various Cricket World Cups.  PHOTOS : ARIF SOOMRO

Hameedi has always taken a keen interest in the sport. He started by listening to cricket commentary, closely following every match around the world, and then began collecting photographs of various teams, mostly collectors’ items.

Hameedi belongs to a well-known family in the country — his brother Anwar Maqsood and sisters Zubaida Tariq and Fatima Surayya Bajia are popular television personalities — making it easy for him to access cricketers in Pakistan. Since Bajia also worked as a journalist, Hameedi, a young fan back then, would often accompany his sister to the office and select from a wide range of photographs taken for print. “When I started collecting photographs, my sound knowledge of cricket impressed the people who had taken those photographs,” says Hameedi. “The people at my sister’s office would let me select the ones I liked from their photo library. Those action pictures were useless for news agencies after they had selected and printed one.”

Hameedi has a wide collection of tickets from every Cricket World Cup. PHOTOS : ARIF SOOMRO

Two cricket bats signed by former Pakistani cricketers, including Hanif Mohammad, Mushtaq Mohammad and Saeed Ahmed. PHOTOS : ARIF SOOMRO

Hameedi also frequented the British Review newspaper office in Karachi which received press releases of matches with accompanying photographs. “Back then, my friend Baseer Ashraf worked as the editor of the British fortnightly paper. He would call me and hand me some of the rare photographs [he had received],” shares Hameedi. But once the Council General of UK, also incharge of photo archives at the time, found out about the missing photographs, Hameedi was called in and asked a series of questions to determine whether he was a true fan or not. “I was scared when I reached the office. The Council General showed me some photographs and started asking me about the players,” he says. He was also asked about his favourite team, batting shot and was asked to name shots played by batsmen in the pictures placed before him. “I gave answers right away and he was amazed by my [knowledge of the sport],” he recalls, adding that he never faced any trouble obtaining pictures afterwards.

A group photo of the West Indies cricket team during their tour to Pakistan from 1980-1981, personally signed by all the players. PHOTOS : ARIF SOOMRO

With a growing reputation as a global cricket fan, Hameedi was welcomed by cricketers who willingly autographed their photographs for him. “Back in the day, I invited players to my house to sign the images and books I had. They were so humble,” recalls Hameedi, revealing that every picture in his collection is carefully catalogued in his memory. “Saeed Ahmed (former Pakistani opener) even introduced me to many foreign cricketers, and he would tell them I was someone who knows and understands the game properly,” he says. His rare collection of photographs is documented in Omar Noman’s Pride and Passion: An Exhilarating Half Century of Cricket in Pakistan.

With the emergence of the digital age, however, Hameedi has gradually lost interest in collecting photographs. “Since everything is available online, it is easy for everyone to collect photographs. Now, I mostly collect books on cricket,” he explains. He has also amassed a wide collection of news clippings and pasted them in books concerning the relevant cricketer. It’s certain, as long as cricket remains alive, so will Hameedi’s passion for collecting everything that celebrates the sport.

Nabil Tahir is a Karachi-based reporter for The Express Tribune sports desk.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, June 7^th, 2015.