It was in the year 2002, having realized that there was no cricket museum in Pakistan and being the member of Lahore Gymkhana I approached the management with a plan to set up the first cricket museum of Pakistan at the prestigious cricket Pavilion of the Lahore Gymkhana cricket ground.
My proposal remained undecided till 2003 when another Lahore Gymkhana member Zia Haider Rizvi got elected as the Convener of Sports. Being interested in cricket he not only accepted my proposal but also nominated me as the founding first honorary Curator of the Museum. From there onward it was a labor of love that kept me motivated. We started modestly in the dining hall located at the center of the heritage Pavilion designed by G. Stone and built by Bhai Ram Singh in 1880 of imported oak wood.
To begin with I started with the few old pictures I had of the first class matches and Test matches that had been played at the ground. Fazal Mahmood the Oval hero to whom I was assisting with his autobiography From Dusk to Dawn and former great Imtiaz Ahmed were extremely helpful. In 2004, the Lahore Gymkhana Chairman Zia-ur-Rahman asked me to form a sub-committee of the Museum. Accordingly Fazal Mahmood, Imtiaz Ahmed, Khalid Qureshi, Iftikhar Ali Bokhari, Dr Zafar Altaf, Prof Farakh Ahmed Khan, Dr Khalid Aftab, Jamil Rana and Nasreen Ilahi became the members of the museum committee.
Before 1880 this cricket ground was a Balloon launching site but after it became a cricket ground four turf pitches were laid in 1882 with the imported clay from Worcestershire. In 2007 when four new pitches were re-laid and the old clay was dug up a piece of ceramic object was found with 1882 marked on it. This piece on display is the oldest artifact of the museum along with a piece of the original clay.
In 1936 India won its first ever victory in an international match against Australia at this ground under India’s first Muslim Captain S. Wazir Ali. A signed group photograph by the players of both the teams is on display through the courtesy of Masood Salahuddin Khan. Recently Megan Ponsford the granddaughter of the great Bill Ponsford of Australia visited the museum for her research of that tour.
In 2005 Lahore Gymkhana became the first cricket club of Pakistan to be affiliated with the MCC and the cricket museum was visited by Robin Marlar President MCC 2005 and his wife.
On display is the only photograph of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah with a cricketer through the courtesy of Mubashar Nazar. Mr Jinnah is seen at the Islamia College Lahore in 1945 with Pakistan’s first opening batsman Nazar Mohammed. Also on display is the 1932 Indian test cap and a blazer of Dr. Mohammed Jahangir Khan through the courtesy of Majid Khan.
A piece of turf of Lord’s ground on display was presented in India in 2003 to the family of fast bowler Mohammed Nisar to honor his five wickets in the inaugural test at Lords in 1932. His son Waqar Nisar presented the item along with a BCCP coat button 1954 of his father. Mr Justice® Khurshid Anwar presented a signed cricket ball by Sir Don Bradman which he had obtained personally from Sir Don in Australia. There are signed cricket balls by Khan Mohammed, Khalid Qureshi, Hanif Mohammed, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Qadir on display. A very rare signed green trousers of the 1992 World Cup winner Imran Khan that he used in 1985-86 is also on display through the courtesy of Babar Zaman.
A camera lens used by the Royal Air Force for raconteur purposes before the partition was donated by the late F. E. Chaudhry the first photo journalist of Pakistan who took the first action pictures from the Lahore Gymkhana pavilion top with it and an improvised wooden zoom in 1951 during the MCC versus Pakistan match.
A Cambridge University blazer and cap used of Majid Khan in 1970-72 is on display.
The blazer had been used previously by A. S. Block in 1928-29. There are Limited Edition signed prints of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. Also on display is a signed cricket bat and cap of Virender Sehwag.
Over a hundred years old slip fielding cradle is another refurbished masterpiece in the museum. Pakistan Eaglets Blazer and necktie 1959, Punjab University and Government College Lahore cricket caps were donated by late Dr. Farakh Khan.
An Eaglets badge and a letter were donated by former cricketer Sultan Mahmud. Among other items are the Lord’s necktie of A. H. Kardar, MCC necktie of Fazal Mahmood and 1962 England tour cap of Javed Burki and his Pakistan blazer badge of 1964-65.
There are several rare pictures on display including one of 1886 of Umbala versus Lahore. Mueen Afzal an eminent cricket enthusiast has donated a signed sheet of the 1978 Indian cricket team to Pakistan. He also gave some lovely pictures of India Pakistan Lahore test of 1955.
A Cricket bat signed by Fazal Mahmood, Imtiaz Ahmed, Saeed Ahmed, Khalid Qureshi, Khalid Hasan, S. F. Rahman, Alimuddin, Hanif Mohammed and Shujauddin all from the early golden era is another rare item on display.
Collecting items for the museum is a never ending quest and there are several things waiting to be put on display shortly. Also a cricket library with rare books is on the premises.
The museum was formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammed Nawaz Sharif in 2009.