This is all to nitpick, of course, especially as Pakistan has less batting heroes than it should. Much more convenient to say that alongside Javed Miandad he is the greatest Pakistani batsman and undoubtedly, one of the best, most compelling of modern batsmen.Captaincy brought out the human in Inzamam, despite his reluctance for the post. He was a caricature before: aloo, overweight, loves a nap, (and his food even more), comedy runner, loses runs when he loses pounds, hits fans. He probably didn't mind it, because nobody minds goodwill, sympathy and endearment the world over.
His dry, sharp wit, already known to teammates, emerged when he had to address press conferences. He was also honest: asked to assess an under-utilised bowler's performance once, he replied, "If he had performed I could've told you."
Fifteen years after his Test debut, Inzamam-ul-Haq signed off a glittering career on the final day of the second Test against South Africa in Lahore. His performance in the sign-off Test wasn't what he would have wanted it to be, and while that hardly diminishes from an exceptional career, it did mean he missed out on a couple of important landmarks.
The 17 runs in his 120th and final Test not only left Inzamam - who finished with a Test aggregate of 8830 - two runs short of equalling Javed Miandad as Pakistan's leading run-getter in Tests, but also brought his career batting average down to 49.60, marginally below the 50-mark, which is considered by many as a benchmark to distinguish between a good and a great batsman. In Inzamam's case, however, that definition clearly doesn't hold.
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