Inzamam-ul-Haq

Syed Inzamam-ul-Haq SI ( born 3 March 1970 ), also known as Inzi, is a former Pakistan cricketer and captain of Pakistan national cricket team.

He is regarded as one of the best middle-order batsmen of all time.

He is the former chief selector of the Pakistan cricket team before resigning in 2023.

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 score 20,000 runs in international cricket arena.

Inzamam-ul-Haq was born in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan, on 3 March 1970 into a Syed Sunni Muslim family.

His family had moved from the city of Hansi in Punjab Province, British India (now in Haryana, India) during the Partition of India.

Inzamam started his career playing for his hometown club, Multan, in 1985.

He went on to represent United Bank Limited, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, National Bank of Pakistan, and Water and Power Development Authority in his homeland.

Inzamam made his ODI debut in a home series against West Indies in 1991, and made a good start to his career by scoring 20 and 60 runs in two matches against West Indies.

Inzamam rose to fame in the semi-final of the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

He remained one of the team's leading batsmen throughout the decade in both Test and ODI cricket.

He was the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team from 2003 to 2007.

As well as being a prolific batsman, he also occasionally bowled gentle left-arm spin.

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, following the second Test match against South Africa, falling three runs short of Javed Miandad as Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket at the time.

Following his retirement, he joined the Indian Cricket League, captaining the Hyderabad Heroes in the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 competition.

In the ICL's second edition, he captained the Lahore Badshahs, a team composed entirely of Pakistani cricketers.

Inzamam-ul-Haq is a prominent member of the Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic missionary organisation, and remains an influential personality in Pakistan cricket.

Inzamam made his debut in English county cricket in August 2007 at the age of 37.

He joined Yorkshire County Cricket Club as a replacement for Younus Khan who left to play for Pakistan in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.

He was disappointing on the whole, making eight on debut at Scarborough's North Marine Road against Warwickshire before making nine and seven in his opening Pro40 games.

He failed to transfer his international form into English county cricket.

In 2007, Inzamam joined the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League (ICL) which was highly controversial.

In the inaugural competition, Inzamam captained the Hyderabad Heroes and scored 141 runs in 5 matches.

In the 2008 competition in March, Inzamam captained the Lahore Badshahs, composed entirely of Pakistani cricketers.

The move to the ICL had proved to be a controversial one for Inzamam.

The Pakistan Cricket Board's stance on players joining unsanctioned leagues meant that he had been banned from playing in any domestic competitions in Pakistan or any involvement with the international team.

However, given Inzamam had recently retired, it was unlikely to have affected him.

It is reported that he was paid Pakistani Rs.

100 million (US$1,100,000) which was the highest salary for any player participating in the league along with the likes of Brian Lara.

In 2010, Inzamam and Saeed Anwar started Meat One, a chain of specialty meat shops.

The youngest of five siblings (four brothers and one sister), his Syed family was called pir for its historical involvement in Sufism and the preaching of Islam, descending from Jamal-ud-Din Hansvi, a scholar and poet who was from the lineage of 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 famed religious figure.

This background led him to embrace the Islamic way of life quite early in his own life.

In April 2016, he was appointed the chief selector of the Pakistan national cricket team.

In August 2023, he was again appointed chief selector of the Pakistan cricket team.

In 2017, Inzamam launched Legends of Inzamam ul Haq, a clothing store in Lahore.

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