‘Beloved bhalo’, thats how I will always remember him.
Inzamam literally burst into the cricketing world with a magnificent performance against New Zealand in the semi-final of 1992 world cup. As a gol matol kid, he had a sleepy demeanor, but the way he whacked the ball to all corners of the ground was simply a sight to see. I still remember watching that game live on television and, like most Pakistan fans, thought the match is over after Salim Malik got out at 140 when Pakistan was chasing 263. Inzi came and crashed 60 runs in 37 balls and literally walked into the hearts of all Pakistani cricket fans.
Over the years he developed into the most reliable batsman in Pakistan team. He has a lazy elegance about him, and as Imran points out, he always the most time to play his strokes. Despite his huge bulk he is amazingly quick on his feet to make room for the shot, and his hand-eye coordination is second to none.
However, like all mortals, he is not without faults.
As a batsman, the first 15 minutes on the crease are his most fateful. During this time the other team always fancy their chances against him. As a runner-between-the-wickets, he is probably the worst the world has seen in recent times. And as a fielder he is beyond repair, except in slip position. Physically the guy is unfit to the point of actually being obese. He almost looks bored on the crease and on the ground, as if he’d rather be spending his time eating biryani or sleeping.
But the biggest eye-opener for Pakistani fans came about when he accepted the captaincy of the team after the debacle of our 2003 world cup campaign. The guy truly sucked in the role. Still for various unfathomable reasons, most of them had nothing to do with how he was performing as a captain, he was stuck with the role till the absolute disaster of 2007 world cup campaign made it impossible for him to continue. Throughout his captaincy he played favorites with the team selection. It doesn’t appear he had any eye for picking out talent, however, he may have thought of himself as the second coming of Imran Khan. Like a dictator he grabbed all the power. And like spineless old men that they are, PCB granted him more and more.
One thing that struck me as very odd was that considering he was the captain of a national cricket team, he was remarkably clueless about the laws of cricket. His almost horrific decision to take off for the day, when he could have batted for 30 more minutes to finish a famous victory; to the incident at Oval where he came out to the ground after the match was called off showed a person who had no idea that cricket has laws and that an international player must know them. Very few people know that there are 11 ways for a batsman to get out under the laws of cricket, and Inzi probably wanted to try all of them. He got out the most incredible and unfortunate ways. The guy gave us endless hours of mirth and frustration (weird combo, I know).
Typical to most top Pakistani (and desi) cricketers, he just has no idea when to quit. He should have given up captaincy to someone better than him many years ago. He should never have insisted on saddling the team with his cronies rather then people who deserved to be there. His team-selection, his field setting, his bowling changes and his batting line-ups were all severely questioned and all pointed to just one conclusion: the guy is unfit to be a captain. He almost always appears detached from the happenings on the ground with no visible support for the bowlers or fielders or consulting others. Laterly with his growing beard, his most visible image is just running his fingers through his beard in a deeply contemplative state. And while we are at it, modern cricket captains also need good oratory skills, and thats another area where Inzamam made himself the butt of jokes. Although it is unclear whether he has any clue how much he sucked in his post-game interviews.
But despite all his flaws and his deteriorating utility on the one-day team, he will always be a legend in Pakistan’s cricket lore. Starting from his fabulous knock in 1992 world cup against New Zealand to the amazing innings he played with the #11 batsman to save the test in Multan against Bangladesh. His whole career was peppered with superlative performances against all kinds of teams. He made centuries against all test teams (except S Africa) and that by itself is a true cricketing feat. The guy was a genius with the bat. Though sadly that is precisely where his genius ended.
I am pretty sure at this time, I will not miss him from the ODI team or from the captaincy of any team. However, Pakistan’s next test is not till December when India is visiting and Inzi is already 37 years old, so this is probably the first step at his eventual retirement. And, therefore, as good a time as any to remember him for his contributions to Pakistan cricket.
Inzi, we’ll really miss the old you. The new you, ermmm… not so much.
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