Imran Khan is set to start the 2nd innings of his life and a more important one at that as he is elected as the Prime minister of Pakistan.But before his political career what really made Imran Khan and put him on the world map was his cricketing genius.
Imran is considered among the best all-rounders of his time (probably of all time).He is called as the 'Lion of Pakistan'.His skills as a bowler were brilliant, he was a capable batsman as well. And when we talk about the captaincy, his leadership qualities were unmatched.One of his best traits was how he evolved as a player adapting with the times and never became a burden on his team.
In the earlier stages of his career, when he had his pace he was among the best of his time and was probably unmatched during his prime.In the later part of his career, when his pace went down, he adapted and started contributing with the bat more and played even at no. 3 position.His hard work, preparations, and dedication towards the game made him a wonderful pioneer of Cricket.
Bowling stats
Matches: 88; Innings: 142; Balls: 19458; Runs: 8258; Wickets: 362; Average: 22.81; Strike Rate: 53.7; 5w: 23; 10w: 6; BBI: 8/58; BBM: 14/116; Economy Rate: 2.54
Imran was a genius with the ball, a free flowing action and being able to swing it both ways. Even on flat tracks of Pakistan, Imran found a way to decimate his opponents with his raw pace and his mastery of the reverse swing.
Batting Stats
Matches: 88; Innings: 126; Not Out: 25; Runs: 3807; Average: 37.69; Strike Rate: NA; 100s: 6; 50s: 18; Highest: 136
Often underrated with the bat, Imran played with the straightest of bats consuming sessions to survive and could as easily up the ante when needed. A test average of over 50 in the last ten years of his career is a testimony to his batting prowess. Imran was arguably the most complete and consistent allrounder being equally good with both bat and ball.
Imran was a natural leader, a genius with an enigmatic personality who became a source of inspiration to his teammates to do the unthinkable.Imran retired after the 1987 world cup only to come back because destiny had something else in mind for him. After a disappointing start and a little help from the rain Gods, Pakistan survived and became better with each game eventually claiming the world cup with Imran fittingly taking the last wicket. This was the highest point in Imrans career.
His greatest contribution to world cricket was reverse swing. Even though Sarfraz Nawaz pioneered the art of reverse swing, Imran was the first one to master it and then passed it on to Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.
Imran is undoubtedly the greatest cricketer to have ever played for Pakistan and a source of inspiration to any young cricketer who wishes to play at the highest level.
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https://steemit.com/blog/@rjunaid12/imran-khan-the-cricketer-dfac78cf77f0c
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