Former Pakistan Test player and umpire Javed Akhtar dies

Javed Akhtar, the former Pakistan spinner and international umpire, died in Rawalpindi on Friday. He was 75.

Akhtar, an offspinner, made his international debut as a 21-year old against England at Leeds in 1962. He went wicketless in the match that Pakistan lost by an innings and 117 runs. It would be his only Test in a first-class career that spanned 17 seasons, from 1959-60 to 1975-1976.

He returned to the international arena as an umpire in the same year he retired, when he first officiated in an ODI between Pakistan and New Zealand in Sialkot.

Overall, Akhtar, who served on the ICC panel from 1997 to 1999, officiated in 18 Tests and 40 ODIs, the last of which was at the 1999 World Cup in a league fixture between England and India.