Imran Khan

Imran Khan (Mohammad Imran Khan Niazi; born November 25 1952), was a Pakistani cricketer (1971–1992) and captain of the Pakistani cricket team. He is currently a member of the National Assembly, the lower house of the Pakistani parliament.

Transformation into a fast bowler

Imran returned to the Pakistan cricket team briefly in 1974, but didn't do well enough to become a regular in the team. It was not until end of 1976, following a successful season with his county club, Worcestershire, that he was picked again for the national squad. His opponents were New Zealand, which included two of his former teammates from Worcestershire, John Parker and Glenn Turner. Imran picked them out for some hostile bowling, to prove to them that they were incorrect in their earlier assessment of his potential as a fast bowler.

Related Topics:
New Zealand - John Parker - Glenn Turner - Fast bowler

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In the begining of 1977, Imran still reckoned himself to be a better batsman than a bowler, a point of view not shared by others in the team. This changed drastically in January 1977, when in a matter of few days during the three test series in Australia, he transformed from an erratic medium pacer to a fast bowler of genuine pace. Pakistan scored an expected win in the deciding match of the series, thanks largely to his 12 wickets haul. This amazing improvement in such a short time was mentioned by Dennis Lillee in his autobiography: "He improved so much as the tour progressed that I couldn't recognize the finished product against what I had seen of him in England in 1975. At that stage of his career, Imran was if anything a better batsman than a bowler".

Related Topics:
Australia - Pakistan - Dennis Lillee

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Following the Australian series, he toured the West Indies, where he met Tony Greig who signed him up for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket. The two years of intense cricket at World Series Cricket molded him into a more complete fast bowler. Under the guidance of John Snow and Mike Procter, his bowling action became side-on, totally different from his javelin thrower like action of the early 1970s. This new action helped him mix his stock in-swinging deliveries with the one that left the right hand batsman. His credentials as one of the fastest bowlers of the world were further established when he finished third at a fast bowling contest at Perth in early 1979, behind Jeff Thompson and Michael Holding, but ahead of Dennis Lillee, Garth Le Roux and Andy Roberts.

Related Topics:
West Indies - Tony Greig - Kerry Packer - World Series Cricket - Fast bowler - John Snow - Mike Procter - Perth - Jeff Thompson - Michael Holding - Dennis Lillee - Garth Le Roux - Andy Roberts

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As the 1980s progressed, he began to reverse swing the old ball significantly, an art that was known to very few bowlers at that time. This was a skill that he passed on to his successors, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, at the end of the decade.

Related Topics:
Reverse swing - Wasim Akram - Waqar Younis

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