Former Pakistan offspinner Zulfiqar Ahmed, 81, has died of cardiac arrest in Lahore. Ahmed was ill for the last few months and his health deteriorated suddenly on Friday. He was Pakistan second-oldest cricketer after Mohammad Aslam who is 88.

Ahmed was the brother-in-law of Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistan's first captain, and played nine Tests for his country between 1952 and 1956, taking 20 wickets and scoring 200 runs. He made his debut in Lucknow during Pakistan's first Test series, the tour of India in 1952-53.

He also went on the tour to England in 1954 and played in the home series against New Zealand in 1955-56 and Australia in 1956-57. He scored a crucial 34 at No. 10 to help set a competitive target in Pakistan's first victory at The Oval. The highlight of his career, however, was the Karachi Test against New Zealand in 1955 in which he took 11 for 79. In the next Test in Lahore, Ahmed was part of Pakistan's tail which added a record 450 runs for the last four wickets. He began his innings with his team on 482 for 8 and remained unbeaten on 21.

Ahmed is survived by his wife and three daughters.