Pakistan’s legendary bowler and current PM Imran Khan was a nightmare for the 80s and 90s batsman. That was the era of Pakistan’s fearsome bowling lineup, and today it seems hard to imagine the aura of a team with Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis, and Imran Khan. No batsman ever would want to face that level of threat!

Former Indian cricketer Arun Lal recounts the tales of exploits of Imran while speaking to Sportskeeda: “It was very, very difficult. That was a different era, the bowling era. All teams had outstanding bowlers; Imran Khan, to me, was the toughest, especially after the concept of reverse swing started. They were the first ones to use it; unfortunately, it also came to ball-scruffing, which later became illegal.”

Imran and co were some of the first bowlers to master reverse swing which comes into play after the ball becomes a bit old. That was the time when ball tempering was not illegal. Later Imran also led Pakistan Cricket Team to their only 50-over World Cup glory yet!

Arun Lal remembers: “Imran was very fit and had an enormous physicality to him on the ground. From ’82 onwards, it was his time. His presence, personality, and the way he came into the bowl were fantastic to see. He was captaining as well; everything was going the way he wanted to. Imran and Hadlee were the best bowlers I ever faced. Of course, the West Indies were also at you all day. You wouldn’t get spin at all and West Indies led by Lloyd were near-invincible”.

Well, nowadays when batsmen who dictate most of the terms on the cricket field will definitely be feeling relieved to not face the wrath of Imran and Hadlee. This may be one of the reasons hardcore cricket lovers refrain to compare current batsman with those of the 70s-90s.