'At one point Imran Khan had given up' - Aamer Sohail opens up on who made the difference in 1992 World Cup

Former Pakistan captain Aamer Sohail was part of the 1992 World Cup team for the Men in Green who went on to clinch their maiden title at the global event under the charismatic leader Imran Khan. The historic triumph by Pakistan is still talked about fondly in the country and worldwide.

Pakistan overcame favorites England in the finals to win the unexpected title. The squad had the likes of Ramiz Raja, Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Wasim Akram, who all went on to play for Pakistan for a long time.

The team also had a future star in making, Inzamam-ul Haq, who helped Pakistan reach the finals by scoring a crucial fifty against New Zealand in the semis. The circumstances in which Pakistan won the World Cup after losing five games at the start was certainly a miracle in itself. Sohail, who gave the team a blistering start in the World Cup up front, feels that it was Miandad who was the major contributor in the 1992 win.

Speaking on the Cricket Life Stories Youtube channel, Sohail said: “The major contribution came from Javed Miandad. He was the inspiration. At one time, Imran (Khan) had given up. He was not 100 percent fit and was thinking of going back to Pakistan. But it was Javed Miandad, who kept on urging him that ‘you are the captain, you have to lead from the front.”

Aamer Sohail revisits the 1992 World Cup win

Imran Khan was struggling with a chronic shoulder injury and the team had already lost promising players Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar due to injuries before the start of the World Cup.

Sohail further concluded by saying that Imran Khan was great at motivating the youngsters to give their best.

“Imran was great inspiration as well. He was great at giving confidence to youngsters. I was not in the final squad for the World Cup, I was on trial. So, I scored a few runs in practice games. I got a 70-odd in a practice match against South Africa in Canberra. After the game, he took me aside at the hotel reception and said, ‘you played really well. I am assuring you that you would be playing the entire World Cup. Even if you score 10 ducks in a row, I will still play you in the final’,” he recalled.