Syed Haider Ali, 'Godfather' of Railways cricket, passes away
New Delhi (PTI): Syed Haider Ali, a domestic cricket stalwart, and one of the finest left-arm spinners who never played for India, has passed away after battling prolonged illness.
Haider died in Prayagraj on Saturday. He was 79. Haider is survived by two sons Syed Sher Ali and Raza Ali.
"He was suffering from chest congestion for some time now. After a routine check-up with his doctor, we were returning home, when he suddenly collapsed. He passed away around 1.30 pm on Saturday," Raza, a former first-class cricketer, told PTI.
Haider made his first-class debut for the Railways in the 1963-64 season and went on to play for his side with distinction for close to 25 years.
A classical left-arm orthodox spinner, who honed his skills on docile tracks around the country in the 1960s and 1970s, Haider bamboozled batters through guile and deception.
By the time he hung his boots in 1988, Haider was by far the most celebrated cricketer for the Railways.
He finished with 366 wickets in 113 first-class games, scalping three 10-wicket hauls and 25 five-wicket hauls, at an impressive average of 19.71.
Not only he accomplished much as a spinner, Haider was equally skilful with the bat, making invaluable contributions batting at No.7.
"He scored 120 against Vidarbha in Nagpur in a Ranji Trophy match in 1984-85 season. I remember we had lost seven wickets and were staring at an innings defeat. We would have lost that game without him," former Railways coach Vinod Sharma told PTI.
Notching up 3,125 runs, including three centuries and 10 half-centuries from 158 innings, is a testimony to his achievements as a batter.
Not many know that Haider began his first-class career as a tearaway left-arm pacer. It was on the insistence of former Railways captain William Ghosh that he switched to left-arm spin.
After retirement, he took on the mantle of the chief selector for the Railways.
"He was our selector, when Railways won the Ranji Trophy titles during 2001-02 and 2004-05 seasons respectively," Sharma recollected.
As news of Haider's demise began to trickle in, the Railways' cricketing fraternity was in a state of shock.
Sanjay Bangar, the former Indian all-rounder, who played for the Railways in the 90s, remembered Haider as a stalwart and a well-respected individual.
"Very unfortunate to hear the tragic news. I never got a chance to play alongside him, but I played when he was the chief selector of the Railways team. He was a stalwart. A soft-spoken and a well-respected individual, Bangar told PTI.
"It's a huge loss for us. I cannot even begin to describe how I'm feeling right now. He made Railways cricket a force to be reckoned with. He was our Godfather," Sharma explained.
Despite being such an irresistible force on the domestic circuit, Haider never made the transition to international cricket.
In a sense, he was very much an unsung hero, having plied his trade at a time when India boasted of the famous quartet of spinners, namely Bishen Singh Bedi, Erappali Prasanna, Shrinivas Venkatraghavan and Bhagwath Chandrashekar.
Haider, however, never harboured resentment for not having made it to the Indian national team.
"He would always say that Bedi was India's No.1 spinner, followed by Padmakar Shivalkar and Rajinder Goel," Sharma noted.
"Take my name only after these three cricketers," he added.
The Railways and the Jammu & Kashmir team, who are playing a warm-up fixture at the Karnail Singh Stadium here in the national capital on Sunday, observed a two-minute silence before the game, in Haider's honour.
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Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes, crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip
Jerusalem, Nov 14: Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday that Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, including massive forced displacements that amount to ethnic cleansing.
A new report released by the New York-based rights group said people have been killed while evacuating under Israeli orders and in Israeli-designated humanitarian zones, where hundreds of thousands are crammed into squalid tent camps.
The report said the widespread, deliberate demolition of homes and civilian infrastructure in Gaza -– some of them to carve a new road bisecting the territory and establish a buffer zone along Israel's border -– was likely to “permanently displace” many Palestinians.
“Such actions of the Israeli authorities amount to ethnic cleansing,” Human Rights Watch said.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the report.
Israel's blistering campaign in Gaza has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to local health officials who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Around 90 per cent of the territory's population has fled their homes, with many displaced multiple times. The Israeli offensive has also damaged or destroyed around two-thirds of homes and other buildings in Gaza, according to UN assessments.
Israel says it does not deliberately target civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths, saying the group members hide among civilians and operate in residential areas.
On Wednesday, 15 trucks carrying aid were allowed into northern Gaza, where aid groups have warned that a months-long Israeli offensive could cause a famine.
The trucks entered Gaza with aid from the United Arab Emirates, according to the military body handling aid deliveries into the territory, COGAT. It said the aid consisted of food and water as well as hygiene, shelter and medical supplies.
UN agencies did not immediately confirm the delivery of the aid.
Israeli forces have encircled the Gaza Strip's northernmost areas for the past month, saying Hamas members have regrouped there. Experts say the Israeli military campaign has caused a new wave of displaced civilians and warn that famine is imminent or may already be happening there.
Israel has also been striking deeper inside Lebanon since September as it escalates the war against Hezbollah.
The Israel-Hamas war began after Palestinian Hamas group stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others. Lebanon's Hezbollah group began firing into Israel on October 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. Since then, more than 3,200 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 14,200 wounded, the country's Health Ministry reported. In Israel, 76 people have been killed, including 31 soldiers.
