Pakistan
Imran Khan, one of the finest and most charismatic all rounders the world of cricket has seen, was born at Lahore, in Pakistani Punjab, on 25 November 1952. A right arm pace bowler from the top drawer and a fine middle order batsman, Imran will also be remembered for his bold, inspirational captaincy that brought Pakistan into the limelight in the -eighties and culminated in their winning the World Cup in 1992. He played for Oxford University, Worcestershire and Sussex in England, New South Wales in Australia and, for Dawood Club and PIA at home. He was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1983.
Imran Khan made his debut, as a tearaway fast bowler for Pakistan against England at Birmingham in 1971. His one-day debut came much later against England in the Prudential Trophy series of 1974. He bid farewell to cricket, more than twenty years later, after the Faisalabad test of 1991-2 against Sri Lanka and the World Cup of 1992. Having played 88 tests, Imran Khan scored 3,807 runs with an average of 37.69 and a highest score of 136, and scored six hundreds and 18 fifties. He claimed 362 wickets at an average of 22.81 and had best figures of 8-58. In 175 one-day internationals, he scored 3,709 runs at an average of 33.41, with one century and claimed 182 wickets at an average of 26.61, with 6-14 as his best figures.
Imran Khan, along with Sarfaraz Nawaz, made it fashionable to reverse swing the cricket ball in the -eighties. He was so dominant a figure in Pakistani cricket when he was captain that he could pick and choose who to play in the national side. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, two of the finest fast bowlers seen in the -nineties were handpicked by him and groomed to play the role of strike bowlers for Pakistan. He nursed the national side and literally pushed youngsters like Inzamam-ul-Haq and others towards fame and fortune.
A heart-throb of millions the world over, the lion-hearted pathan chose to build a Cancer Hospital in memory of his mother after his cricket career was over and then jumped into the political arena in Pakistan, wanting to bring about a social revolution.
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