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By
Karthik Narayan
 Right
from the streets of Multan, a small sleepy town in Pakistan
known for its horrendously hot weather, came trudging into the
cricket ground a big boy, a chubby, cheeky boy carrying the
bat like a bludgeon, he strode the aisles way back in 1991-92.
Now that boy has become the BIG MAN of Cricket. And its time
to compose the odes, the praises for this chocolate faced
burly Sultan; for he has treaded the grounds of Cricket unlike
no other! Ten Thousand Runs in ODIs! My god, that’s a tad too
many, right? Who would have thought he was creeping up to the
mark? While all eyes are on the bog shots like Sachin and
Lara, Inzamam is a player who likes to play the Sleeping
Giant.
More than ten thousand runs, and imagine if he had run them in
singles. Well, that would have been the diet
prescription for this burly big man, but
Inzamam happens to be a free scoring stroke maker. So sadly
that prescription did not help at all, in reducing his belly
size!
And mind you, Inzy is only the second ever batsman to cross
the massive mark of 10K ODI runs after Sachin Tendulkar. It
has taken 322 matches for Inzamam-ul-Haq. The road to this
landmark has not been easy! His test ventures may not be
something you can talk of all day, but in the One Dayers, one
can’t pass over a World XI without this burly and cheeky
player.
Inzy was one of those street cricketers in the gallis of
Multan, spotted by that great Pakistani Sportsman Imran Khan.
He did a Nostradamus by predicting that this bright young lad
of 17 would one day strike Gold and become one of the best
batsman of all time! And the prophecy did indeed hold good!
Who would forget his great one-day knocks,
especially the way he pulverizes the opposition bowlers making
a total mockery as though they were mere club bowlers? With
his stepping out to the spinners with his splendid footwork…
he would make many a Dancer proud. His commanding personality,
the towering sixes and the fours hit with such class, timing
and power that one would associate with only him. He is an
unique combination of aggression and style. His confidence
when he walks in to bat is too good.
Every one of his knocks was a true Gem of its Own! Each one
would be studded with his trademark square cutes, the fierce
pulls, the dance down the track sixes, the odd risky single
now and then, and of course the comical running between the
wickets. He is on his day, the best batsman in the Pakistani
team.
The reason he took more matches to reach this landmark is
outrageously simple: mostly he caused his own downfall.
Suicidal run outs, disastrous strokes; laziness and lapse of
concentration were the main reasons for him getting out more
rather than the bowler bowls a great ball. Self-destructive he
was; had he been more careful in his approach, we certainly
would have seen more blows from the willow of this cricketer.
In order to change this look, of late he has gone in for the
rugged look, sporting a beard. Whatever he does, he is still
our Prankish Big Boy of Cricket.
Truly a player whose record is to be commended and salutations
from me and all the fans of cricket for a truly fabulous
effort. Cricketfundas.com wishes Inzamam-ul-Haq all the very
best with his captaincy and batting.
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