Imran Khan - 'The lion of Pakistan'

[Asim]

The original transformer

Imran Khan: the difference between a mediocre Pakistan and an exciting one

Imran was at the heart of shaping modern-day Pakistan cricket, and all we love about the team and their play can be traced back to him http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/484398.html A giant among allrounders

Imran Khan: exceptional with bat, ball, and as a leader

At his peak, Imran Khan the bowler was easily among the best in the world, while his skilful batting and inspirational captaincy made him the complete package http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/484478.html

[Asim]

Cricket is the very first thing I remember to watch on TV, was a 4,5 year old kid that time… 1st cricket player I became familiar by name plus by face was Imran Khan... And 1st cricket match I watched completely from 1st ball to last ball like a full time cricket fan is when I was 8 year old and it was 1992 World Cup final... That was all time great victory for Pak and I became a big fan of Imran Khan and Wasim Akram since that match. I never missed Akram afterwards but unfortunately it was the last match of Imran Khan but still since 1992 I followed his each activity, interview, movements and efforts as a politician and even now I am a big fan plus supporter of him. Great cricketer he was no doubt but now to me more importantly he is a great human being, a rare sincere politician in Pak, a genuine leader and a true fighter who never accepts the defeat...

[Clarke]

^ If u say so. What's the thread for btw ? His b'day or aise hi ?

[Asim]

^ If u say so. What's the thread for btw ? His b'day or aise hi ?

ESPN Cricinfo Legends of Cricket :) CrebU4Rri60&p=687108DA340A611F&playnext=1&index=16

[Sir john]

but imran take 21 year to win world cup,our kapil take only 6 year to win world cup.B-> anyway imran is excellent allrpunder.:yay:

[ravishingravi]

Asim, I have to confess Imran has been a a very important figure for me as a role model. Sure, he has digressed at times . But as a cricketer, he was not the most talented by his own admission, but worked his a@@ off. However, lately watching him talk on politics has been cringing to say the least.

[DomainK]

As an all rounder, Imran was superb. His name will always come up when people discuss the best all rounders in cricket.

[putrevus]

this notion that Imran is an great all rounder is just ridiculous and a myth same like what Bradman's myth of being greatest batsmen just due to his 99.94 Avg is for Aussies Imran being great all rounder is also big myth, which all Pakistanis along with some fools from cricinfo have created. I never rated Imran Khan as a great all rounder, here is why. His bowling evolved during course of his career he started in 1971 but was never a regular fixture in the team till 1976 it took him five years to establish as a permanent team member let alone world class player. He scored his first 100 in his 30th test till then his HS score is 59, Ian Botham scored his first 100 in 4th test and Kapil Dev in his 8th test.Imran Khan scored two hundreds in first 60 test matches and 4 100 in last 28 matches when he was no longer a good bowler. Imran being a great bowler is also up to debate to some extent as Sir Imran suddenly and mysteriously started to pick up wickets at rapid rate after 30 tests.His bowling avg after 30 tests was nearly 30 which is worse among Botham and Kapil. But during his next 30 test matches where his bowling was truly world class his picked up 160 odd wickets including 40 in one series against India where many Indian players playing that tour believed Pakistanis did lot of ball tampering and of course lot of help from umpires. His last 28 tests which have led to creation of this myth that this guy was great all rounder he scored he scored 4 hundreds with avg over 50, which gave his final stats lot of make over.He had already retired once from international cricket only to make a comeback to team Pakistan which Javed still feels only to screw him. A great all rounder is a player who can play a vital innings when rest of batting fails Imran Khan has never played that innings both in odis and tests, he was least talented batsman among the three Ian botham and Kapil dev who have played a lot number of defining innings for their teams than Imran. To pick Imran Khan as all rounder in second world XI is a joke same like to say Dhoni/Sangakara are greater wicket keeper batsmen than Adam Gilchrist just because they AVG more than him. Imran was nothing world class at any stretch except his middle 30 tests where in he somehow managed to pick up 160 odd wickets doing what only god knows.

[Asim]

^ :) Name a single Pakistani you truly admit him a Legend or Great Cricketer...

[putrevus]

^ :) Name a single Pakistani you truly admit him a Legend or Great Cricketer...

For me Wasim Akram is a legend and is best cricketer from Pakistan, Imran hogged all glory of 92 world cup which in fact he almost single handedly screwed things for Pakistan by batting at no3 and batted so slow, he had no business of batting at no3 he neither was the best batsman nor a great stroke maker. it took two great performances one from Inzi in semis and again in finals he batted almost till 32nd over and it took brilliance of Wasim Akram to win the match for Pakistan. What does Imran do he acts as if he was reason why they won world cup which is so not true, he almost screwed it up for Pakistan with his ridiculously slow batting.

[ravishingravi]

For me Wasim Akram is a legend and is best cricketer from Pakistan, Imran hogged all glory of 92 world cup which in fact he almost single handedly screwed things for Pakistan by batting at no3 and batted so slow, he had no business of batting at no3 he neither was the best batsman nor a great stroke maker. it took two great performances one from Inzi in semis and again in finals he batted almost till 32nd over and it took brilliance of Wasim Akram to win the match for Pakistan. What does Imran do he acts as if he was reason why they won world cup which is so not true, he almost screwed it up for Pakistan with his ridiculously slow batting.

Yeah but who got wasim, waqar, Mushtaq, Aaqib, Inzamam etc into the side. Some of them were were solely responsible for what Pak. achieved in the next decade.

[Sachinism]

Yeah but who got wasim' date=' waqar, Mushtaq, Aaqib, Inzamam etc into the side. Some of them were were solely responsible for what Pak. achieved in the next decade.[/quote'] But shouldn't add to his 'greatness' as a player

[putrevus]

Yeah but who got wasim' date=' waqar, Mushtaq, Aaqib, Inzamam etc into the side. Some of them were were solely responsible for what Pak. achieved in the next decade.[/quote'] So what has that got to do with Imran Khan as an all rounder, that has got something to do with Imran Khan as a captain.He was great captain but all rounder please give one great knock both in odis/test matches he has played.Heck even Abdul Razzaq/Afridi have played more matching winning knocks than Imran khan. It is like saying Saurav Ganguly is the best batsman India has produced because he had given chances to Yuvraj and Sehwag.

[zen]

"Lion of Pakistan" - he should be in jungle or zoo :P Imran is one of my fav cricketers though!

[Castro]

this notion that Imran is an great all rounder is just ridiculous and a myth same like what Bradman's myth of being greatest batsmen just due to his 99.94 Avg is for Aussies Imran being great all rounder is also big myth, which all Pakistanis along with some fools from cricinfo have created. I never rated Imran Khan as a great all rounder, here is why. His bowling evolved during course of his career he started in 1971 but was never a regular fixture in the team till 1976 it took him five years to establish as a permanent team member let alone world class player. He scored his first 100 in his 30th test till then his HS score is 59, Ian Botham scored his first 100 in 4th test and Kapil Dev in his 8th test.Imran Khan scored two hundreds in first 60 test matches and 4 100 in last 28 matches when he was no longer a good bowler. Imran being a great bowler is also up to debate to some extent as Sir Imran suddenly and mysteriously started to pick up wickets at rapid rate after 30 tests.His bowling avg after 30 tests was nearly 30 which is worse among Botham and Kapil. But during his next 30 test matches where his bowling was truly world class his picked up 160 odd wickets including 40 in one series against India where many Indian players playing that tour believed Pakistanis did lot of ball tampering and of course lot of help from umpires. His last 28 tests which have led to creation of this myth that this guy was great all rounder he scored he scored 4 hundreds with avg over 50, which gave his final stats lot of make over.He had already retired once from international cricket only to make a comeback to team Pakistan which Javed still feels only to screw him. A great all rounder is a player who can play a vital innings when rest of batting fails Imran Khan has never played that innings both in odis and tests, he was least talented batsman among the three Ian botham and Kapil dev who have played a lot number of defining innings for their teams than Imran. To pick Imran Khan as all rounder in second world XI is a joke same like to say Dhoni/Sangakara are greater wicket keeper batsmen than Adam Gilchrist just because they AVG more than him. Imran was nothing world class at any stretch except his middle 30 tests where in he somehow managed to pick up 160 odd wickets doing what only god knows.

Imran Khan was a great player. He scored a pressure cooker hundred in Adelaide in 90 and scored 72 in the world cup final of 92 and that too was under severe pressure. He also led his team to victories in England and India in 1987. He inspirational captaincy nearly won Pakistan a series in West Indies in 1988. At one stage bottom of the table, Imran Inspired Pakistan to world cup victory in 1982. He is nothing short of a great player.

[Castro]

Yeah but who got wasim' date=' waqar, Mushtaq, Aaqib, Inzamam etc into the side. Some of them were were solely responsible for what Pak. achieved in the next decade.[/quote'] Imran hand picked those players into the team. He brought Wasim back into the 35th over brother, I remember in an article that Imran told Wasim "who cares about how many wides or runs you concede, bowl as fast as possible". His slow batting in the 92 world cup final set up Pakistan's total. I don't think Pak would have survived if he got out early. He also stuck with Inzy and eventually paid off handsomely in the semi final.

[maniac]

Imran was an excellent crickter and he should have gracefully stuck to being that but he thought he could translate leading 10 morons into leading half a million morons and became a moron in that process.

[Asim]

By the way many people here have a habit to ALWAYS criticize Pakistani umpiring in the past, which I believe must be genuine too but nobody ever bothered to mention that Imran Khan was the first captain who took initiative and strongly suggested ICC to start neutral umpiring and rather, if I am not wrong he literally invited 2 umpires from India for a home series vs. WI in 87 when no one else could have imagined this...

[Raghav_12]

this notion that Imran is an great all rounder is just ridiculous and a myth same like what Bradman's myth of being greatest batsmen just due to his 99.94 Avg is for Aussies Imran being great all rounder is also big myth, which all Pakistanis along with some fools from cricinfo have created. I never rated Imran Khan as a great all rounder, here is why. His bowling evolved during course of his career he started in 1971 but was never a regular fixture in the team till 1976 it took him five years to establish as a permanent team member let alone world class player. He scored his first 100 in his 30th test till then his HS score is 59, Ian Botham scored his first 100 in 4th test and Kapil Dev in his 8th test.Imran Khan scored two hundreds in first 60 test matches and 4 100 in last 28 matches when he was no longer a good bowler. Imran being a great bowler is also up to debate to some extent as Sir Imran suddenly and mysteriously started to pick up wickets at rapid rate after 30 tests.His bowling avg after 30 tests was nearly 30 which is worse among Botham and Kapil. But during his next 30 test matches where his bowling was truly world class his picked up 160 odd wickets including 40 in one series against India where many Indian players playing that tour believed Pakistanis did lot of ball tampering and of course lot of help from umpires. His last 28 tests which have led to creation of this myth that this guy was great all rounder he scored he scored 4 hundreds with avg over 50, which gave his final stats lot of make over.He had already retired once from international cricket only to make a comeback to team Pakistan which Javed still feels only to screw him. A great all rounder is a player who can play a vital innings when rest of batting fails Imran Khan has never played that innings both in odis and tests, he was least talented batsman among the three Ian botham and Kapil dev who have played a lot number of defining innings for their teams than Imran. To pick Imran Khan as all rounder in second world XI is a joke same like to say Dhoni/Sangakara are greater wicket keeper batsmen than Adam Gilchrist just because they AVG more than him. Imran was nothing world class at any stretch except his middle 30 tests where in he somehow managed to pick up 160 odd wickets doing what only god knows.

Great Post. I would have done this had you not. Imran no doubt has been a great player - a legend. But his stats are a bit misleading in terms of his all-round capabilities. He became good batsmen only in last part of his career when his bowling was falling away. His batting averae was in mid-twenties until half of his career and he could reach to an average of 30 only in his 50th test match ( out of total 88). An all-rounder is player who can be expected to contribute from either bat or ball. But in Imran's case it was ball in initial years and bat in later years, so overall it comes across as balanced picture. I think Wasim was more deserving candidate for world Xi and he got that also.

[Ranjha]

Wasim Akram was much better than this imran khan dude...not bad but overrated. on the other hand akram was a true legend.