More than 30 years ago, the then 39-year-old Imran mentally retired as a cricketer but turned into the men’s leader to beat a solid England team led by Graham Gooch to win Pakistan’s first global trophy – 50 Over World Cup at MCG.
Even though Imran, with his Oxford education and world outlook, was very different from Babar, the quintessential Lahori, both the Pakistan captains are bound by a common thread – taking their team to the finals of the World Cup with a piece of luck and a lot.
Imran was the “captain” for every player on that team and could command undeniable loyalty. Babar is the kind of ally and brother who can put a kind hand around a troubled player who may be out of form.
Emraan was happy to have an interviewer and his debonair look made him a darling among the opposite sex.
Babar is a family man, a reticent man, who gives the impression that he wants to disappear from the light of the arc.
On 25 March 1992, when Imran went out for the toss with Gooch, he was wearing a white round neck T-shirt with a picture of a cornered tiger on it.
In that incident Pakistan came back from the brink. After losing the first three games, they were the fourth loser after being all out for 74.
England were scoring 24 for one when the rain god smiled at Imran. Points from that match were shared and Pakistan won their next four round robin games before winning the semi-finals and final.
Also, it was the first time they had met India in a World Cup game and they were badly beaten by Mohammad Azharuddin’s team.
Coincidences are such that this time Pakistan lost to Virat Kohli’s India and then Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup.
If divine intervention was opening heaven in their do-or-die game against England in 1992, not even the best bookmakers would have predicted that the Netherlands would beat South Africa in 2022.
A handful of them would have committed murder.
The 1992 semi-final was also a thrilling chase against the best team of the tournament, New Zealand, with Inzamam-ul-Haq announcing his arrival on the world stage.
The 2022 semi-final saw the rise of Mohammad Haris, who was not part of the team initially selected.
After reaching Sunday’s final, Pakistan is a favorite of all gamblers, especially those who love the game of roulette. They are unique numbers that can appear on any given day and the difference will be left in everyone’s mouth.
If that team had Wasim Akram as an enforcer, then this side has Shaheen Shah Afridi.
If Imran had a street smart Javed Miandad, who was like the conductor of a musical band, Babar has a perfect foil in Mohammad Rizwan, who often doesn’t set the narrative for his team with his strokeplay.
That team did an MBA from Ramiz Raza and consists of Soumya Shan Masood, who was raised and educated in the United Kingdom.
Naseem Shah can be compared to Aaqib Javed while Shadab Khan is a slightly more all-round cricketer than Mushtaq Ahmed.
But if one looks at this England team, it has limited overs cricketers like Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali.
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