One of the key figures of Pakistan cricket, Intikhab Alam was pivotal to the country's rise as a cricketing nation. By design, he was a bowling all-rounder - a steady leg spinner who could also tonk the ball hard with the willow in hand. Even though consistency didn't always come for the Hoshiarpur born, his presence ensured a transition phase as Pakistan grew from a timid team to a dominating force. The grit in his personality meant that it was only a matter of time before he was appointed as the captain of the side. Tactically, Alam was a fine leader but was mostly known to be a diplomatic person which had its own share of pros and cons. A quick learner of the game, Alam was among the first Pakistanis to head for the England County shores, in pursuit of fine tuning his skill set. His experience at Surrey proved priceless and infectious as Pakistan's 1974 tour became a fairytale, as they emerged unbeaten in the series. Alam in particular was among the chief architects with his leg spin.

While his diplomatic qualities as a captain weren't always appreciated, they did come in handy when Alam started coaching. The biggest proof of this is the fantastic understanding levels he had when Imran Khan led the side. The duo were responsible for carving Pakistan's biggest moment in their cricketing history - an iconic World Cup win in 1992. Alam was used to doing double duty - as the coach and manager of the side. In Imran and Javed Miandad, Pakistan had two senior players who were a stark contrast to each other. The dressing room could have been a battlefield of egos but Alam's composure and diplomacy meant that these potential issues were nipped in the bud. The coach-manager role returned to Alam two more times, albeit as a stop-gap solution with Pakistan cricket in crisis. First of those came in 2000 and the last one in 2008. The latter was a really surprising decision at that point but bore fruit as Pakistan won their maiden World T20 title the next year. Few years earlier, Alam also coached Punjab in India's domestic season, making him the first ever foreigner coach.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan