Inzamam-ul-Haq is perhaps one of the most famous and respected Pakistani cricketers of all time. He was born on March 3rd, 1970 and is commonly known in the cricket world as Inzy.

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq recently said he is waiting to see which player can break batting legend Sachin Tendulkar's record for most runs in international cricket. Tendulkar has a whopping 34,357 runs from a total of 664 games, including 200 Tests, 463 ODIs and a T20I.

Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka was next with 28,016 runs. Known as a running machine, Indian captain Virat Kohli has the ability to come close to Tendulkar's record. But Inzamam said he's waiting to see who can, and he also said the Master Blaster should have played more matches than he did.

He was the leading run scorer for Pakistan in one-day internationals and the third highest run scorer for Pakistan in Test cricket. He is the only Pakistani batsman to have scored 20,000 runs in an international cricket arena. From 2003 to 2007 he was captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. In addition to being a prolific hitter, he also gently rolled his left arm on occasion.

Inzamam rose to fame in the semi-finals of the 1992 Cricket World Cup. He remained one of the team's leading batsmen in both Test and ODI cricket throughout the decade. In 2003 he was appointed captain of the team. His tenure as captain ended after Pakistan's early exit from the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Inzamam retired from international cricket in 2007 after the second Test match against South Africa, remaining three runs behind Javed Miandad as Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket to that one time back. After retiring, he joined the Indian Cricket League and captained the Hyderabad Heroes in the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 competition. In the second edition of the ICL, he managed the Lahore Badshahs, a team composed entirely of Pakistani cricketers.

Inzamam-ul-Haq is a prominent member of the Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic missionary organization, and remains an influential figure in Pakistani cricket.

In April 2016 he was appointed Chief Selector of the Pakistan national cricket team.

Early Life and Family

Inzamam-ul-Haq was born on March 3, 1970 in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan to a Sunni Muslim family of Syed. His family had moved from the town of Hansi in the province of Punjab, British India (now Haryana, India) during the Partition of India.

The youngest of five siblings (four brothers and one sister), his Syed family has been named Pir for their historical involvement in Sufism and the preaching of Islam, descending from Jamal-ud-Din Hansvi, a scholar and poet who came from the lineage descended from Abu Hanifa and a direct disciple of the famous 12th-century Sufi poet Baba Farid. Inzamam's grandfather, Pir Zia-ul-Haq, was also a famous religious figure. This background led him early on to turn to the Islamic way of life.

In 2010, Inzamam and Saeed Anwar founded Meat One, a specialty meat chain. In 2017, Inzamam Legends of Inzamam ul Haq opened a clothing store in Lahore.

His nephew Imam-ul-Haq also plays cricket for Pakistan.

Domestic Career

Inzi has appeared in all three formats of the domestic game. He has played a total of 245 top-flight games and hit a total of 16,785 runs at a 50.10 average with the racquet. He also hit 45 centuries and 87 fifties. While on the ball, he has 38 first-class wickets in 245 games.

He has also appeared in 458 List A games and hit a total of 13,746 runs with a batting average of 38.07. His List A stats also included 1297 fifties with the best score of 157 unbeaten runs. He also claimed 30 List A wickets.

Besides playing for Pakistan, he has also played for various teams including Asia XI, ICC World XI, Faisalabad XI, ICL Pakistan XI, National Bank of Pakistan, Multan XI, Rawalpindi XI, Yorkshire, Lahore Badshahs, UBL and others.

English County Cricket

Inzamam made his debut in English county cricket in August 2007 aged 37. He joined Yorkshire County Cricket Club as a replacement for Younus Khan, who represented Pakistan in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. He was disappointing overall, making an eight on his debut at Scarborough's North Marine Road against Warwickshire before going on to make nine and seven in his first Pro40 games. He failed to transfer his international form to English county cricket.

Indian Cricket League

In 2007, Inzamam joined the unauthorized Indian Cricket League (ICL). In the inaugural competition, Inzamam captained the Hyderabad Heroes, scoring 141 runs in 5 games. In the March 2008 competition, Inzamam captained the Lahore Badshahs, made up entirely of Pakistani cricketers.

The move to the ICL had proved controversial for Inzamam. The Pakistan Cricket Board's stance on players joining unauthorized leagues meant he had been banned from participating in national competitions in Pakistan or any involvement with the international team. However, given that Inzamam had recently retired, it seemed unlikely that this had affected him.

It is reported that he was paid Pakistani rupees. 100 million ($1,100,000), which was the highest salary for any player to compete in the league, along with the likes of Brian Lara.

International Career

One Day International Cricket

Inzamam made his (ODI) debut in a home series against West Indies in 1991 and got off to a good start in his career, scoring 20 and 60 runs in two games against West Indies. This was followed by 48, 60, 101 and 117 runs against Sri Lanka. Inzamam also had his name in the record books early on, winning his first ball in ODI cricket, trailing Brian Lara.

Selected by former Pakistan captain Imran Khan for the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, 22-year-old Inzamam was relatively unknown before the tournament. To the surprise of many, he persevered throughout the tournament, appearing in various positions on the batting lineup, although he wasn't very successful early on. But it was his performances in the crucial stages of the competition that caught the attention of fans and round-ups.

Inzamam rose to fame in Pakistan's dramatic semi-final against New Zealand in Auckland. With his side in a precarious position chasing 262 against an impressive New Zealand side, he hit a fiery 60 run-innings with just 37 balls to save his side and take them to the finals. The innings were considered one of the finest World Cup performances. He hit a massive six in what was described by David Lloyd as the shot of the tournament.

Inzamam made an equally important contribution in the final of the World Cup, scoring 42 runs from just 35 balls and helping Pakistan to a 249 score after a slow start. These innings established Inzamam's reputation as a big-game player, although he failed to repeat his championship success in later tournaments.

Inzamam does not consider his least highlighted innings of 90 against West Indies as Pakistan won their first West Indies ODI on March 27, 1993.

Overall, Inzamam set a record for most half centuries at One Day Internationals, 83 - although this is now surpassed by Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis and Kumar Sangakkara. He was also the second batter to hit 10,000 runs in one-day internationals (again after Tendulkar) and was named to the ICC World XI at the 2005 ICC Awards for both tests and one-day internationals. In his last ODI for Pakistan, when he played against Zimbabwe at the 2007 Cricket World Cup, he scored three catches during the field including the last of the game, ending his one-day career.

Test Cricket Career

He had little opportunity to fail to get by with a score of eight during his 1992 Test debut against England at Edgbaston. However, in subsequent matches he displayed a vulnerability to swing bowling, which led to his being dropped for the final Test after averaging just 13.20 runs per innings. Pakistan secured a famous win in that game, winning the series 2-1.

After the England series, Inzamam wanted to establish himself in the Test team and he successfully achieved this, helping the team to many memorable victories. Of particular note was their 1994 match against Australia in Karachi. He often flicked his tail and his 58* helped Pakistan to a one-wicket win and a 1-0 series win. Not only did he help his side become the best team in the world for a short while, he also achieved personal success by becoming the number one ICC batsman in 1995.

He later recaptured first place in the rankings in 1997. He remained in the top 20 batsmen until his retirement. He was the world number one batsman three times in his career, as well as third batsman several times, most recently after his double fifties with the Lords against England in 2006. The 1996 Tour of England was a notable success for both Inzamam and Pakistan, where Inzamam his batting against seam bowling converted, averaging 64, with scores of 148, 70, 65 and 35.

Retirement from One-Day International

His one-day international career ended after the unfortunate and controversial death of Pakistan head coach Bob Woolmer shortly after Pakistan's early exit from the 2007 World Cup. He played his last ODI against Zimbabwe at the 2007 World Cup.

Inzamam retired from international cricket and at the time was the highest run scorer in ODI with over 10,000 runs and the highest number of fifties getters in ODIs with 83 fifties. His record in the 1950s was broken by legendary cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis and Kumar Sangakkara.

He left cricket long ago but his legacy still remains the same.

Controversies

Inzamam has also faced several controversies in his cricket career. At the 1997 Sahara Cup, he beat up an Indian spectator after being taunted by him. Then, in 2006, he missed the field as captain in a friendly against Inzamam when the side were charged with hardening the ball. This decision earned him four ODI bans and he became the first captain in cricket history to lose a cricket match.

Coaching Career

Inzamam worked as the national team's batting advisor for the 2012-13 tour of India. Then he also worked as a coach of the Afghanistan cricket team. Most recently he worked as the Chief Selector of the Pakistan cricket team.
Inzamam currently has his own YouTube channel where he talks about cricket.

Captaincy

Inzamam led Pakistan in 30 Tests, winning 11, drawing nine and losing ten. Only three players have captained Pakistan in more friendly matches, but all have better win-loss records and only Imran Khan has a lower win rate than Inzamam. The Oval Test match in 2006 was planned as a win for Pakistan before the controversy took place and had it not happened Inzamam's record would likely have had one win more and one loss less. Despite his win-loss record, Inzamam served as captain until March 2007, the longest tenure as captain since 1992 (when Imran Khan retired).

The captaincy had a positive impact on Inzamam's batting ability and he often set an example under pressure, averaging more than captain (52) than when he wasn't (50). Inzamam also had the highest average as a captain at ODIs and is currently third on this list behind former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. After early failures in Australia, he took an exhausted Pakistan side to India in 2005 and played a key role in securing a tie, winning the final Test game from an unlikely position by an innings of 184 runs.

He then led his side to ODI success against West Indies (away), England (home) and Sri Lanka (away), as well as victories in the Test series against England (home), India (home) and Sri Lanka (away). Inzamam seemed to have united the Pakistan team and victories propelled them to 2nd place in the ICC Test rankings and 3rd place in the ICC ODI rankings. The latter part of Inzamam's tenure as Pakistan captain was less successful and the team was embroiled in much controversy, culminating in a disappointingly early exit from the 2007 Cricket World Cup by low-ranked Ireland.

At the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Inzamam led the Pakistan team to their first loss against ICC associate member Ireland (on St Patrick's Day). This result and their previous loss to West Indies caused them to be eliminated from the tournament. A day later he announced his retirement from One Day International Cricket and resignation as Test captain. The announcement came on the same day as Bob Woolmer, Pakistan's coach, died in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica. He dedicated his last ODI to Woolmer, with whom he had a good relationship for three years and affectionately called him "The Bob".

Rise to Glory

Inzamam was chosen by Pakistani cricket legend Imran Khan for the 1992 ICC Cricket World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand. The relatively unknown player disappointed early in the tournament.

However, he began to produce crucial performances in the most important stages. He led Pakistan to semi-final victory by scoring 60 carries on just 37 balls. More 48-run innings of side saves followed, leading to Pakistan's first World Championship triumph.

In a test match against Australia in Karachi in 1994, he made 58 not outs with his tail, helping Pakistan to a one-wicket win and a 1–0 series win. He achieved personal success by becoming the International Cricket Council's number one batsman in 1995.

Records

Some of his world records in cricket are as follows:

• Highest run scorer on ODIs and third highest scorer on tests for the national team.
• Highest number of fifties in Tests for Pakistan, fourth highest overall.
• Second highest number of centuries in tests for Pakistan.
• The third-highest Test average in matches won.
• Nine half centuries in a row in Tests against England, the most by any player against any team.