Mudassar Nazar (Urdu: مدثر نذر; born 6 April 1956) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer with a career in Test cricket for Pakistan and in league cricket in Pakistan and England. He was an opening batsman who played 76 test and 122 one-day matches for Pakistan. After retiring from professional cricket, he has had a number of administrative positions in the cricketing world, including two stints as coach for Pakistan in 1993 and 2001, for Kenya and for several other teams. He was born in Lahore, Punjab.
Currently, he is appointed an Advisor for Lahore Qalandars franchise cricket team in Pakistan Super League.
International career
Mudassar made his debut in Test cricket for Pakistan against Australia in Adelaide on 24 December 1976. The son of Test cricketer Nazar Mohammad, he followed in his father's footsteps to open Pakistan's opening batting. Mudassar now resides in Bolton, England. He played for many prominent league teams in Pakistan, and played his last Test match against New Zealand at Auckland on 28 February 1989, but he continued playing first-class cricket until 1993. He became the second Pakistani after his father to carry the bat as an opener in the fifth Test of the 1982–83 series against India.
One time, Mudassar held a record for highest partnership in Test Cricket of 451-runs, 3rd-wicket with Javed Miandad against India at Hyderabad, Pakistan in 1982–83. He also holds the record for the slowest Test match century and also in terms of minutes (557). He was also a useful bowling option for his captain and earned the reputation of a shock bowler because he was good at breaking long partnerships and batsmen who played long innings.
In the mid-1980s, Mudassar became a spokesman for the Pakistan players' association and claims that criticisms he made about the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) led to him being omitted from the Pakistan side.
Coaching career
After retiring from professional cricket, Mudassar became national coach for Pakistan.
In 2003, Mudassar was appointed by the Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) as head coach of its academy in Nairobi, with a two-year contract commencing in January 2004. He was appointed caretaker head coach of the Kenya national cricket team in January 2005 following the resignation of Andy Moles, amid conflict with the KCA.
In January 2021, Mudassar was appointed by the Emirates Cricket Board as a national selector and head of the National Academy Program. He was head coach of the United Arab Emirates national under-19 cricket team for the 2021 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup and the 2022 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
In March 2023, Mudassar took over as head coach of the United Arab Emirates national cricket team on an interim basis, following the sacking of Robin Singh.