Inzamam-ul-Haq

Inzamam-ul-Haq, whom Imran Khan rated the best in the world against pace, was possibly the finest batter Pakistan produced. He combined strength and subtlety - the latter in the form of deftness remarkable for a man of his bulk - played shots all round the wicket, was especially strong off his legs, and could pull and drive ferociously. A predilection for frequent comedy run-outs offset the grace of his strokeplay.

Against New Zealand in a boiling Lahore in 2002, Inzamam belted 329, falling just short of Hanif Mohammad's record for the highest Test score by a Pakistani. Other high points included: 177 against West Indies - Ambrose, Walsh, Bishop and all - in 1997; four hundreds in six Tests starting at the end of 2000, against England, New Zealand and Bangladesh; a stellar series against England at home in 2005, where he started with twin fifties, then made two hundreds in the second Test, and 97 the only time he was called on to bat in the third. There was also a dogged, face-saving 138 not out against Bangladesh in Multan, where he dragged his side past the target of 262 after they were 164 for 7.

Inzamam made his white-ball debut late in 1991 and went into the following year's World Cup off the back of consecutive centuries against Sri Lanka at home. At the World Cup, he produced an audacious 60 in the semi-final against New Zealand, and then 42 in the final that Pakistan memorably won.

In the 2003 tournament, though, he was dogged by poor form and scored only 19 runs, which led to him being dropped from the team briefly. He came back with the thrilling one-wicket win against Bangladesh in Multan and was appointed captain. But though he led Pakistan to victory in a Test series in New Zealand, they were beaten in both the Test series and the one-dayers when India toured for the first time in 15 years in 2004.

Some redemption came in the return series, when, with a team thin on bowling resources, Pakistan drew in India in 2005. In the final Test of that series, Inzamam's 100th, he produced a superb 184.

The home victory against England that followed later that year seemed a vindication of Inzamam's leadership but he missed the win over India in Karachi early in 2006 with a persistent back injury, and the subsequent thrashing in the ODIs made the old concerns about his captaincy rear their head again.

Controversy followed in the middle of the year when Pakistan were beaten comprehensively in the Test series in England, but more importantly, forfeited the final Test at The Oval when they refused to take the field after the umpires docked them runs for ball-tampering. It made Inzamam something of a national hero in Pakistan for standing up for the country's pride, though he was banned for four ODIs for it.

He returned to lead the side to a series win over West Indies, followed by a disappointing Test series in South Africa, and then quit the one-day game after Pakistan were eliminated from the 2007 World Cup at the first hurdle, an event overshadowed by the death of Bob Woolmer.

He joined the breakaway Indian Cricket League after that, risking a life-time ban from the PCB, but he quit the league and made himself available for selection again and went on to play one last Test, in Lahore against South Africa. He fell just two short of Javed Miandad's record for the highest Test aggregate by a Pakistan batter and 60 short of a career average of 50.

Inzamam briefly coached Afghanistan after his retirement, and served multiple terms as a Pakistan selector.