Profile: Imran Khan

An all-rounder par excellence.

A captain nonpareil.

A handsome personality with a charisma all his own.

That was Imran Khan during his 21-year international career.

Simply put, he was one of the great figures in the game.

For a start, he is still only one of two cricketers to score a hundred and take more than ten wickets in a Test match; Ian Botham being the other.

The fairly tall, good-looking Pathan with the matinee-idol stature inspired Pakistan, a team that was plagued by disparate factions, to give off their best. He did this by personal example, through his shrewd leadership and by showing that Pakistan had the talent and the skill to defeat any team - as they did while winning the World Cup in 1992.

That win was Imran the captain and Imran the cricketer's apotheosis.

He set certain goals and then spared no effort in achieving them, cajoling and inspiring his men along the way.

That World Cup triumph.

The first Test series victory in England under his captaincy in 1987.

The first series win in India that he achieved a few months earlier.

All this could not have been achieved by an ordinary cricketer.

It had to be accomplished by a cricketer with certain superhuman qualities. And Imran had them.

Text: Partab Ramchand

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