Inzamam

Lahore: Javed Miandad regretted that Inzamam-ul Haq failed to break his record of most Test runs for Pakistan, saying he would have been the rightful heir to the landmark.

Inzamam retired after scoring 8,830 runs in Tests and 11,739 in one-day Internationals but by only accumulating 17 in his final Test, the batsman was unable to pass Miandad’s 8,832 runs.

“I was expecting him to break my record. I would have been happy if he had done it, because I have had a teacher-student relationship with him,” Miandad said.

“Given his service to Pakistan cricket and the quality player that he was, he deserved the record.”

“He might not be as consistent as Tendulkar or Lara but he matched them in class. Players like Inzamam are born in centuries,” Miandad said.

Inzamam later said it was good that he did not surpass Miandad’s record because he considered him a better batsman than himself.

“I have learnt from Javed about batting… this record should remain with him,” Inzamam said. A number of Pakistan players and current coach Geoff Lawson also heaped praise on Inzamam. The following are their reactions (in alphabetical order):

WASIM AKRAM: I know it is difficult to retire but at least he got the chance to do it in front his own people and on his home ground.

INTIKHAB ALAM: There are a very few gifted players in world cricket and Inzamam is definitely one of them. He should have gone to greater heights because the best thing about his batting was that used to pick up the length of the delivery very quickly.

GEOFF LAWSON: It will take a year or two before we can find a replacement for Inzamam. He was a class player.

SHOAIB MALIK: You look at the number of times Pakistan won when Inzi bhai played a big innings and it shows the quality of his runs. You don’t always judge great batsmen by their averages.

MOHAMMED YOUSUF: Inzamam was a source of great strength for the team and his presence in the dressing room was a big plus for all of us. He had our respect as captain and senior player all the time.