Pakistan cricketing legend Hanif Mohammad died in Karachi on Thursday, Dawn reported. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer and was suffering from severe respiratory problems, reports said. The 81-year-old had a cardiac arrest earlier in the day and survived, but died later in the evening. Mohammad played 55 Tests between 1952 and 1970, averaging 43.98, and had made 12 centuries.

He was nicknamed the 'Little Master' and was widely regarded as the first cricket star to emerge out of Pakistan. Mohammad's crowning moment of glory came in 1957, in a match against West Indies in Bridgetown, Barbados, where he scored 337 runs.