IMRAN KHAN (PAK)

Introduction

Imran Khan Niazi (born November 25, 1952) is a Pakistani cricketer and politician. Khan played for the Pakistani cricket team from 1971 to 1992, and led them as captain to his country's first and only World Cup victory in 1992. With a record of 3807 runs and 362 wickets in Test cricket, Khan is known as one of the finest all-rounders in the modern history of the game.

Full name:Imran Khan Niazi
Born: 25 November 1952 (age 55) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Batting style: Right-handed
Bowling style: Right-arm fast
Role: All-rounder

Test debut (cap 65): 3 June 1971 v England
Last Test: 7 January 1992 v Sri Lanka
ODI debut (cap 12): 31 August 1974 v England
Last ODI: 25 March 1992 v England

Test & ODI Matches: 88 & 175
Runs scored: 3807 & 3709
Batting average: 37.69 & 33.41
100s/50s: 6/18 & 1/19
Top score: 136 & 102*
Wickets: 362 & 182
Bowling average: 22.81 & 26.61
5 wickets in innings: 23 & 1
10 wickets in match: 6 & n/a
Best bowling: 8/58 & 6/14
Catches: 28 & 36

First Class Career

Khan made a lacklustre first-class cricket debut at the age of sixteen in Lahore. By the start of the 1970s, he was playing for his home teams of Lahore A (1969-70), Lahore B (1969-70), Lahore Greens (1970-71) and, eventually, Lahore (1970-71). Khan was part of Oxford's Blues Cricket team during the 1973-75 seasons, and captained the University XI in 1974. During this decade, other teams represented by Khan include Dawood Industries (1975-76) and Pakistan International Airlines (1975-76 to 1980-81). From 1983 to 1988, he moved on to play for Sussex.

International Career

In 1971, Khan made his Test cricket debut against England at Birmingham. Three years later, he debuted in the One Day International (ODI) match, once again playing against England at Nottingham for the Prudential Trophy.

Khan achieved the all-rounder's triple (securing 3000 runs and 300 wickets) in 75 Tests, the second fastest record behind Ian Botham's 72. He is also established as having the second highest all-time batting average of 61.86 for a Test batsman playing at position 6 of the batting order.

Captaincy

At the height of his career, in 1982, the thirty-year old Khan took over the captaincy of the Pakistani cricket team from Javed Miandad. In the team's second match under his leadership, Khan led them to their first Test win on English soil for 28 years at Lord's.

In 1987, Khan led Pakistan to its first Test series win in India, which was followed by Pakistan's first series victory in England the same year. During the 1980s, his team also recorded three creditable draws against the West Indies. India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 World Cup, but neither ventured beyond the semi-finals. Khan retired from international cricket at the end of the World Cup. In 1988, he was asked to return to the captaincy by the President Of Pakistan, General Zia-Ul-Haq, and on January 18, he announced his decision to rejoin the team.

World Cup victory

Khan's career-high as a captain and cricketer came when he led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup. Playing with a brittle batting lineup, Khan promoted himself as a batsman to provide stability in the top order together with Javed Miandad, but his contribution as a bowler was minimal. In the final match, at the age of 39, Khan scored the highest runs of all the Pakistani batsmen and took the winning last wicket himself.

Awards and honours

In 1992, Khan was honoured with Pakistan's most prestigious civil award, the Hilal-i-Imtiaz. Before that, he had received the President’s Pride of Performance Award in 1983. Khan is featured in the University of Oxford's Hall of Fame and has been an honorary fellow of Oxford's Keble College. In 1976 as well as 1980, Khan was awarded The Cricket Society Wetherall Award for being the leading all-rounder in English first-class cricket.
Khan has also been named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1983, Sussex Cricket Society Player of the Year in 1985, and the Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year in 1990. On July 8, 2004, Khan was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2004 Asian Jewel Awards in London, UK. He was recognized for continuing "to devote his time between Pakistan and his adopted Britain, acting as a figurehead for many international charities and working passionately and extensively in fund-raising activities. On December 7, 2005, Khan was appointed the fifth Chancellor of the University of Bradford, where he is also a patron of the Born in Bradford research project. On December 13, 2007, Khan received the Humanitarian Award at the Asian Sports Awards in Kuala Lumpur for his efforts in setting up the first cancer hospital in Pakistan. Khan is placed at Number 8 on the all-time list of the ESPN Legends of Cricket.