Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former first-class cricketer who leads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
He was born in Lahore, Punjab, on October 5, 1952, and is presently a member of the National Assembly.
Between 1971 and 1992, he was a member of the Pakistan national team as an all-rounder.
The right-handed batsman is known as the greatest all-rounder in the sport’s history, second only to Garry Sobers.
He was inducted into the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Cricket Hall of Fame in 2010.
Background
Khan made his first-class cricket debut in Lahore at the age of sixteen. He played for several smaller Lahore-based teams in the early 1970s before breaking into the main squad in 1970–71.
Between 1973 and 1975, Khan was a member of the University of Oxford’s Blues Cricket team.
From 1971 to 1976, he was a medium-pace bowler for Worcestershire County Cricket Club.
Debut
On the 3rd of June 1971, he made his Test debut against England, which ended in a stalemate as he struggled to take a single wicket in both innings and scored just 5 runs.
Three years back, at Trent Bridge for the Prudential Trophy, he made his ODI debut against the same opponents.
He didn’t get a single wicket, but he ended his 10 overs with the third best economy in the match.
Rise to Glory
After finishing his education at Oxford and completing his contract with Worcestershire, he returned to Pakistan in 1976 and has been a regular member of the national team since the 1976–1977 season.
His first Tests were against New Zealand and Australia, two of the best teams in the world.
The West Indian Series was the next series, and Tony Greig signed him up for Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket.
When he bowled at 139.7 km/h, which was the third fastest ball in the tournament, he won the title of fastest bowler in the tournament.
He bowled 62 wickets at an average of 13.29 in nine tests during the 1982 season, the lowest average of any bowler in Test history with at least 50 wickets in a year.
In just his 75th Tests, he accomplished the all-triple rounder’s of 300 Test wickets and 3000 Test runs, the second-fastest time behind Ian Botham, who hit the plateau three matches earlier.
Club Career
Between 1975 and 1976, he was a member of Dawood Industries, and from 1975 to 1981, he was a member of Pakistan International Airlines.
During his time in England, he represented Oxford University, Sussex, and Worcestershire. He played for New South Wales in Australia in the 1984-85 season.
Captaincy
He took over the captaincy from Javed Miandad at the age of 30. He led his team to 14 victories and eight defeats in 48 test matches.
He led his team to victory in 77 of the 139 One-Day Internationals he captained, while losing 57 of them.
He took 40 wickets in six Tests at an average of 13.95 in the 1982 home series against India, but he was sidelined for more than two years due to a stress fracture in his shin.
In the 1984–1985 season, he made a return. He withdrew from international cricket after struggling to qualify for the 1987 World Cup before rejoining the team in 1988.
He led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup at the age of 39, contributing more with the bat rather than the ball during the series.
Record in Numbers
He was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1983.
He was one of fifty-five cricketers inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame at the International Cricket Council’s centennial year celebration.
In 1985, he was named Sussex Cricket Society Player of the Year.
Retirement
In the series decider against Sri Lanka in January 1992, he played his last test match for Pakistan.
He didn’t bowl in either innings and struggled to bat in the final one. Pakistan, on the other hand, took the match and the series by three wickets.