"Do not be scared of losing, you'll never know how
to win."
Imran Khan
The name of Imran Khan conjures visions of the finest in the
history of cricket. But who could have ever thought, this man could end up as
one of the most beloved and followed icons in cricket as because he suffered a
shoulder fracture as a child? Imran was such a non-entity during his first tour
with the national team in England. The captain Intikhab Alam even forgot his
name while introducing the Pakistani team to Queen Elizabeth at Lord’s Cricket
Ground before the start of first Test. He was mocked by some of the senior
members of the team and written off by the critics after a dismal debut.
But, Imran was someone who never relished to be proved
wrong. He took those criticisms seriously, very seriously. He decided to
counter-punch his critics and worked harder to polish his cricketing abilities.
From changing bowling action to batting technique to fitness to strengthening
the temperament, Imran was a different species, eleven years after his debut
and what an impact he had not only over Pakistan cricket, but world cricket as
well.
The world changes not because it’s her nature, but she has
been forced to change due to the existence of some bold minds who dared to
challenge the traditional rules and regulations. From politics to religion to
socialism to science to sports, if anyone notices, the changes occurred had
predominantly been due to the influence of some brave minds, who dared to think
differently and raised above all to act accordingly. Neither anyone’s harsh
criticism nor hindrances could stop them from implementing their thoughts, and
for which, the world could enjoy various blessings with the passage of time,
courtesy of those bold and brave minds.
This game cricket has been blessed with so many brave minds.
John Willes, WG Grace, Ranjitsinjhi, Bosanquet, Warwick Armstrong, Ian
Chappell, Clive Lloyd, Arjuna Ranatunga, Sourav Ganguly etc. challenged the
traditional ways of this glorious game and established their thoughts the
legacies of which is still carried on by the current generation of cricketers.
Among the great names mentioned above, Imran definitely
holds a special place. From 1982 to 1992, a decade could easily be named the
decade of Imran Khan as because in those ten years, Imran’s cricketing views
and implication of his plans had a big impact on world cricket.
Neutral umpires and use of technology
Imran’s first tour as captain was in England in 1982. In the
1982 tour to England, Pakistan played its three of its Tests on slow and low
wickets which inevitably meant there would be many close things as the ball
kept low. So a team, which possessed Abdul Qadir, who bowled googly
predominantly, Imran Khan and Sarfraz Nawaz, both of whom bowled more
inswingers, and Mudassar Nazar, who angled-in from wide of the crease, it was
obvious that there would be times when the pads would be wrapped in very close
situations.
Qadir’s googlies, Imran and Nawaz’s inswingers and
Mudassar’s in-coming balls from an angle trapped many of the English batsmen
plumb in front, but most of his appeals were turned down. The English critics
and umpires blamed Imran’s men for over-appealing. The umpires’ attitude got
into the Pakistan team and it led Pakistan to miss one wicket at Lord’s in the
second Test. Pakistan didn’t appeal for a bat-pad!
Imran thought for a change. He decided to give a solution
rather than engage himself in a blame game.
In the book “Imran” written by Patrick Murphy, published in
1983, he said, “I had been calling for neutral umpires for Tests since the
Indian series in 1978, when the decisions went our way; my experiences in New
Zealand next year in 1979 and then later in the year only confirmed my opinion
that it was time to pool our umpiring resources and select a panel that would
be the best in the world. I had made a point of commending the umpires on my
Australian tour in 1976, so it wasn’t just case of mine being negative and
knocking.
I am always ready to give praise to the umpires when it was
deserved, because it is a demanding task with the growth of television coverage
and the increase in slow, low wickets. I believe that the home team is
subconsciously favoured by the home umpires. There will always be tight
situations in Tests but in my experience, the home side gets the benefit of the
doubt in more occasion than not. Neutral umpires, backed up by electronic aids,
would help in that direction.
It would be a move towards professionalism and if gadgets
could help make umpires’ job easier, why not try them? Men like Dickie Bird,
Barry Meyer, Tom Brooks and Douglas Sang Hue have been excellent umpires in my
experience and if they umpired in a series in Pakistan, and then flew over to
Australia, I believe that their influence and integrity will influence others.”
The mighty Khan just did not relax by saying such, but
proved his words into deeds.
Cricket’s first decisive step towards quelling age-old
accusations of biased home umpiring came on November 7, 1986, when Indian
umpires VK Ramaswamy and Piloo Reporter stood in a Test against West Indies at
Lahore. The Pakistan press and some of the authorities heavily criticised
Imran’s action but Imran stood firm on his decision.
He furthered the idea by inviting John Hampshire and John
Holder for the home series against India in 1989. On both the occasions, 1986
and 1989, the Ashes were going on with the local umpires standing on both ends.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) gradually realised
it was the way forward. One neutral umpire per Test was appointed on an
experimental basis in 1992 and it was adopted two years later and in 2002 two
neutral umpires stood on both the ends and the system is still being followed.
In 1992 the third umpire was adopted to decide the runouts
and stumpings. Gradually, technology has become the part and parcel of making
decisions in modern day cricket. And one cannot deny, it was Imran who
suggested of using gadgets to make the umpires’ job easier.
Emphasizing the importance of a legspinner in the age of
fast and furious
The 80s belonged to the adventurous and classic batsmen,
great all-rounders and tear away fast bowlers. There was hardly any room for a
spinner to showcase their talent. Especially, for a legspinner. The advancement
of One-day International Cricket (ODI) in 70s and 80s, developed a common
thought among the captains, including a legspinner would prove costly and in
five-day matches, the thought was the same. The majority preferred either a
pacer or an offspinner.
But Imran thought, after the exit of Bhagwat Chandrashekhar,
world cricket did not experience yet another high-quality leggie and only a legspinner
could stop the might of the all-conquering West Indies as Imran noticed how
vulnerable they could be against a legspinner.
Imran fought with the Pakistan hierarchy to include Abdul
Qadir in the team. At first, Qadir was scratchy, but after that England tour in
1982, Qadir blossomed as he was provided with the freedom by Imran. He always
allowed Qadir to set his own field and in ODIs, Imran never shy away from using
him within the fifteen and slog overs, a ploy which was unthinkable in those
days. Qadir delivered and a majestic art kept on shining in the era of fast and
furious.
Pinch-hitting
Whenever the topic “pinch-hitting” is discussed, most of the
times, the names of Sanath Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Mark Greatbatch
hog the limelight more. And this is obvious, as because, they took
pinch-hitting to a different level altogether.
But during the tour to Australia in 1989-90, Imran decided
to go the different way, in case of opening the batting in 50-over format. He
wished to attack from the word go and utilize the 15-over rule (There was no
power-play in those days). In Australia, Imran sent Saeed Anwar with Rameez
Raja to take the bowling attack to sword and they proved successful. During the
Austral-Asia Cup at Sharjah in 1990, Imran tried the combination of Saleem
Yousuf and Anwar, which paid rich dividends. But that ploy was short-lived only
because of the inconsistency of Pakistani batters. Yousuf faded since 1990
while Anwar was in a lean-patch till that Sharjah tournament 1993.
So, it can be claimed, Imran was the first to think about
pinch-hitting in 50-over format, but perhaps, it did not receive the attention
it deserved.
Shuffling the batting order
Shuffling the batting order in limited-overs format is a
very common thing nowadays, but in the 80s, hardly anyone wanted to tilt the
batting order. They invested faith in unchanged batting order more. Imran
thought of sending some of the tail-enders up the order ahead of main batsmen.
During the eventful final of Austral-Asia Cup in 1986, Imran sent Qadir at
number six instead of coming himself as because, the Indian spinners – Ravi
Shastri and Maninder Singh strangled hold Pakistan batters and to only a spinner
could release the pressure as he could read where the ball would turn. Qadir
fetched valuable runs and released the pressure in an important partnership
with Javed Miandad for the fifth wicket.
In the second innings of fifth Test between India and Pakistan
at Bengaluru in 1987 on a minefield, Imran sent Saleen Yousuf to open. His
logic was, being a wicketkeeper; he would be able to understand where the ball
was turning. Even he used people like Manzoor Elahi and Wasim Akram as useful
floaters without even caring about how tough the situation was.
During the Sharjah Cup in October, 1989, India gave Pakistan
274 to chase in 46 overs. In those days, such targets were tough to chase.
After a brilliant opening, opener Shaheed Saeed was dismissed and Imran sent
Wasim at number three instead of Saleem Malik to counter the left-arm spin of
Shastri and Singh. His logic was, as two left-arm spinners were operating from
both ends, a southpaw would be able to handle them and attack. Again, Imran did
not want Pakistan to lose the brilliant momentum gifted by the openers and keep
the asking run rate within reach through Akram’s nag to smash the attack. Wasim
struck 37 off 23 balls and made the task easier for others. Pakistan won the
match. Imran did the same with Wasim against Australia in the second final of
World Series Cricket at Sydney Cricket Ground in 1990.
Spot a special talent and give him breakthrough immediately
Imran arranged a camp to spot young talents in 1991. A tall,
but fat youngster came in that talent hunting. Imran asked him to face the fury
of Wasim and Waqar Younis in the nets. He advised the 2Ws to bowl at their very
best and which they did to that tall boy. The tall boy hardly missed anything
but middle the ball and played some of the shots on the front foot, which in
fact, should have been executed on the back. Imran realized, that boy is a gift
of God and can be one the best in future.
Immediately, Imran gifted him the national cap and the next
year, the boy would prove vital to Pakistan’s World Cup victory in Australia
and New Zealand. The name of the boy was Inzamam-ul-Haq.
In case of spotting Waqar the story was pretty similar and
his prognostications about a young Wasim in 1985, though raised eyebrows during
that time, came true in future. He would pick a Tauseef Ahmed from the nets or
Aaqib Javed from nowhere as Imran always believed, whenever a special talent is
noticed, he must not be wasted in the name of gaining maturity in domestic
circuit.
Imran’s such a way of spotting talent and giving them a
breakthrough immediately with limited exposure or no exposure to first-class
cricket, let the world think differently about utilising special talents.
Politics has dented Imran’s popularity to a great extent and
perhaps, even in his own country, many of his cricketing logic and thoughts are
not welcomed warmly. But in my opinion, Imran’s cricketing journey and his
brave decisions are a lesson for the current experts, cricketers and fans. He
used to possess one of the finest cricketing brains and it’s a pity, the man
left cricket for the sake of politics, which in return is not giving him any
positive feedbacks.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
