Imran Khan

Few would dispute that Imran Khan was the finest cricketer Pakistan has produced, nor that he was the most famous, the most inspirational captain, and the biggest heartthrob.

Suave, erudite and monstrously talented, Imran gave cricket in the subcontinent real sex appeal in the 1970s and 1980s. With his lithe bounding run, photogenic delivery leap, and reverse-swinging yorker, he was instrumental in taking cricket to another level of popularity in his country.

Imran made himself into an allrounder worth a place for his batting alone, and captained Pakistan as well as anyone, rounding off his career with the 1992 World Cup win. He led in 48 of his 88 Tests, and the responsibility sat light on his shoulders: he averaged 52 with bat (and made five of his six Test hundreds) and 20 with ball when in charge.

Imran played hardly any domestic cricket in Pakistan, instead flying in for home series from England, where he was regularly sighted at the more fashionable London salons. His averages (37 with the bat, 22 with the ball) put him at the top of the quartet of allrounders - Ian Botham, Richard Hadlee and Kapil Dev being the others - who dominated Test cricket in the 1980s. And whereas Botham declined steadily, Imran just got better and better: in his last ten years of international cricket he played 52 Tests, averaging a sensational 51 with the bat and 19 with the ball.

Facing up to old foe India brought the best out of him. His zenith was arguably the 1982-83 series, where he took 40 wickets in the six Tests, including 8 for 60 in the first of the two Karachi matches to blow India away by an innings and plenty.

Imran also gave no quarter during some memorable battles with West Indies - Pakistan drew three series with them at a time when everybody else was being bounced out of sight - and he led Pakistan to their first series victory in England in 1987, taking 10 for 77 with an imperious display in the decisive victory at Headingley.

After retirement he moved into the labyrinthine world of Pakistan politics and became prime minister of the country in 2018, when his party, Tehreek-e-Insaaf, got a majority in the national election, but was ejected from office four years later following a no-confidence motion. That same year he survived an assassination attempt, only to be jailed in 2023 after an arrest on corruption charges.