Inzamam-ul-Haq, even in his prime, seemed to do everything slowly. But even then, while batting, he seemed to have a lot of time on hands. When he retired in 2007, he was Pakistan’s second-highest Test run-scorer behind Javed Miandad.
Inzamam’s career ended with him just three runs behind Javed Miandad, who was Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in Test cricket. Miandad retired having made 8832 runs in Test cricket from 189 innings, whilst Inzamam finished on 8829 runs from 198 innings.
But while Miandad was a maverick, streetsmart cricket, Inzamam’s batting oozed pure class. There was a lazy elegance to it that sometimes made batting look effortless. For a big guy, he never quite used brute force to smash the ball away. He always relied on timing.
Since his retirement, Pakistan have struggled to find a player of his caliber and while Babar Azam has put his hand up, he still has a while to go before he can match Inzamam’s consistency.
As Inzamam turns 50 today, here’s a look at a video of former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan narrating the hilarious story of he convinced the Pakistan selectors to pick the young batsman:
Having got him for the 1992 World Cup, Khan gave the youngster all the support he needed and Inzamam repaid the faith in full starting a stored career.
In the semi-final against New Zealand as he made 60 from 37 deliveries and then crucial 42 in the World Cup final against England he was instrumental in Pakistan’s victory.
To this point, it remains Pakistan’s finest moment in World Cup and there is no denying that Inzamam played a huge role in it.
