1987-88.
Fed up of the allegations against Pakistani umpires, Imran Khan insisted on neutral officials during their 1986-87 home series against the West Indies. The two Indians, Piloo Reporter and VK Ramaswamy, were the first neutral umpires in Test cricket since 1912.
Quite naturally, there was some (but not much) grumbling in Pakistani media, mostly from umpires like Shakoor Rana.
But the Indians were generally well accepted. The shopkeepers refused to take money from them, the hospitality was incredible, and so on.
The crowd, too, cheered the umpires. For example, when Reporter stood at square-leg, they kept chanting “Bambai se aaya umpire, umpire ko salaam karo” at Reporter and kept on shouting “palat, palat” till he obliged.
Then, one day, when they were having lunch, the umpires were told that they had a visitor. This was most unusual, and they could not make a guess. They agreed.
The imposing figure of Shakoor Rana approached at the table. The situation was obviously tense, for Rana had not taken the concept very well.
They need not have worried.
“I know I have said a lot of things, but once you’re here, you are my guest,” announced Rana.
He turned out to be an excellent host. Reporter and Ramaswamy had a grand time, sight-seeing around Lahore in Rana’s car. He had a big heart.
Many would not rate him among the greatest of all time, but Dickie Bird maintained that Rana was a “good” umpire. But then, it cannot be denied that Rana was the most famous name in a group of umpires that had forced Imran to take the call for neutral umpires.
He also hailed from one of Pakistan’s top cricket families (two of his brothers and two nephews played for Pakistan).
But all that is not what Shakoor Rana is remembered for. Mohsin Khan once questioned after Rana gave him leg-before. Rana responded by deciding horribly wrong leg-befores against Mohsin till the batsman apologised.
On his Test debut, in 1974-75, Rana called Gibbs for overstepping. Now Gibbs took pride in keeping his feet behind the line. Gibbs’ response was not the politest. As a result Clive Lloyd had to issue an apology to Rana on the rest day of the Test.
Three seasons later, he had an argument with Bedi and Gavaskar over an Indian bowler running on the pitch. The Maharaja of Baroda, the Indian team manager, had to issue an apology.
Unfortunately, he is not remembered for any of these. On that occasion, too, Gatting was forced to apologise (on a paper, on the fourth day of the Test). Reports emerged after the series that Rana had also written a letter, but that was, to quote Wisden, “an expression of regret than an apology”. The England board had to pay a hardship allowance of £1,000 each to the touring cricketers to calm them.
By 1981, however, he had mellowed down. He stood in a few County Championship matches that season. A local Indian taxi-driver had advised John Barclay to ask Rana “where is Allah?” instead of “howzzat?” – the idea being to fool Rana into raising his forefinger.
“Not that silly thing again,” came the wry response.
Shakoor Rana was born on 3 April 1936.