Pakistan has always been known to produce the best fast bowlers in cricket. In the 1990’s a batter emerged. Inzamam- Ul- Haq or Inzi as he was called by his teammates went on to leave his mark with the bat for the next 15 years he played cricket. Inzamam was first spotted by former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan who had to fight tooth and nail with the selectors to take him to the 1992 World Cup.
By that point, Inzamam had played just a handful of games but had plenty of domestic experience having made his debut in 1985 as a 15-year-old. Inzamam had a poor start to the 1992 World Cup but scored an unbeaten 60 in the semi-finals against New Zealand. This took Pakistan to the finals where Imran Khan and his team beat England to win their only ODI World Cup title.
Imran Khan during an event revealed how he spotted the young batter. Khan said “Now let’s talk about Inzamam-ul-Haq. We needed good batsmen, we didn’t have good batsmen at the time and were going to play the World Cup, and I had started preparation a year before. So I called people from the Domestic scene and asked them if they had any talented batsmen. And one of them said, There is one guy, a bit fat though. I already had scouts in the field, so they brought me Inzi and I observed him in the nest for 5 minutes, went up to him and said ‘You’re going to be playing the World Cup next year’
The former Pakistan skipper added “So I went to the selectors and all 3 of them said that he was useless. And believe me, I pleaded with them, even though I was at my peak then, for Inzi to play; a selector even resigned because he thought Inzi was going to play because of my reference. That was my last year in cricket, so maybe you might have never heard Inzamam’s name!”
One of the greatest batters the game has seen – Inzamam Ul Haq
Despite his physical appearance, Inzamam could play the pull shot with brute force. As a batter, there was no one better when it came to timing the ball. At one time many Pakistani fans pitted him against Sachin Tendulkar. Inzamam also had anger issues at the start of his career and famously nearly got into a fisticuff with an Indian fan during an ODI match in Toronto in the 1997 Sahara Cup.
By the time he had ended his career, Inzamam was one of the best-run scorers for Pakistan. The right-handed batter also was involved in a controversy during the 2006 tour of England when Pakistan failed to come to the field after being accused of ball tampering. This was the only time when a Test match was forfeited to the opposition with Inzamam at the helm.
In 120 Test matches, Inzamam scored 8830 runs with a best of 329 which was one of 25 centuries he scored. Inzamam also had hit 46 fifties and had an average of 49 with the bat. In the ODI format, the right-handed batter played 378 matches scoring 11739 runs with 10 centuries and 83 fifties with an average of 39.
Disclaimer: This Exclusive News is based on the author’s understanding, analysis, and instinct. As you review this information, consider the points mentioned and form your own conclusions.
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