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There was the World Cup in England in 1979 and once again Pakistan faltered at the finishing line and failed to make the finals. Pakistan's tour of India in 1979-80 saw Pakistan lose the series and Asif Iqbal the captaincy. Javed Miandad was appointed captain against Greg Chappell’s Australians, an eminently forgettable series played on flat, lifeless pitches apart from Karachi, where Pakistan won. Greg Chappell scored a double century at Faisalabad and so did Taslim Arif for Pakistan. Denis Lille took only one wicket on that tour! A worse advertisement for test cricket was hard to imagine.

The series against the West Indies was a little better but this series was lost by Pakistan. Then Pakistan toured Australia. Pakistan lost 2-1 but it was notable that Pakistan had been able to notch up the test win on Australian soil. But the tour will be remembered for something else. When the team returned, the senior players refused to play under Javed Miandad. Playerpower had struck. The Cricket Board caved in and Imran Khan was appointed captain. Thus began the reign of Imran, born of a mutiny. Imran Khan remained the undisputed king till 1992, and it was Pakistan cricket's golden period.

The 80's
Imran Khan has been described as an authoritarian. It is true that he demanded and got his own team and selection committees all but became redundant. But he got results and no one could have accused him of being anything but fair minded. He believed in winning and was not afraid to lose. He wanted what he considered the best team. He even sacked Majid Khan, his cousin, from the team believing that the majestic batsman was past his prime. He took the Pakistan team to England in 1982, lost the series 2-1, but not without a tremendous fight that saw Pakistan win the test match at Lord’s in which Mohsin Khan scored a double century and Imran himself showed his development as an all-rounder. The lesson had been learnt. Pakistan was not to lose another test series against England, either in England or at home. Imran set about restructuring the Pakistan team. He was not afraid of raw and inexperienced youngsters and throwing them in the deep end. He believed in 'on the job training'.

In 1982-83 Kim Hughes brought the Australians and they were thrashed three-nil and then came India with Sunil Gavaskar as captain. It was Imran's first real test and he came off with flying colours. Pakistan decimated India, winning the series three-nil. Imran's own contribution with both ball and bat was outstanding but he had to play a heavy price. He ended up with a stress fracture of the shin. His bowling days were over for a while. Although he would bowl again, he realised that he needed to concentrate on his batting to justify his place in the team.
Imran captained Pakistan in the World Cup in England in 1983 but did not bowl. He skipped Pakistan's tour of India in 1983-84 and Zaheer Abbas captained the team and did well enough to draw all the tests. Imran was back to take Pakistan to Australia but did not play in the first three test matches, still nursing his stress-fractured shin but he played in the last two test matches as a batsman and came close to scoring a century at Melbourne. The captaincy alternated between Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad.

Meanwhile, one-day internationals had become a regular feature of cricket and when cricket came to the desert in Sharjah U. A. E., Pakistan and India met regularly before highly partisan expatriates crowds. But the cricket provided thrills and not more than Javed Miandad’s last ball six against India that won Pakistan the match and drove the Pakistani fans into euphoria. It is possibly the best remembered six in cricket history and the most rewarding one financially for Javed Miandad.

Imran Khan had three personal milestones in mind. He wanted to beat India in India, win the series against England in England and to win the World Cup. He set about these tasks with single-mindedness. Pakistan toured India in early 1987. Imran had been restored to full physical fitness. He was now joined by Wasim Akram as his new ball partner. Wasim Akram was at the start of a career that would blossom and he would become the most lethal left-arm fast bowler in the history of the modern game. Imran was not a captain who was afraid to lose and Pakistan played attractive, attacking cricket but the first four test matches were drawn. The wickets prepared were not result oriented. For the last test match at Bangalore, the hosts gambled on an underprepared wicket hoping that their spinners would make the difference. As it turned out it was the Pakistani spinners, Iqbal Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed would did the job for Pakistan. The ball was spinning like a top and from the first morning, the bounce was uneven and it was a wicket totally unsuitable for a test match. The Indian gamble had misfired and Pakistan won the match and the series. The one-day internationals were easily won by Pakistan and the team returned home in triumph. Imran's stock was sky high.

The team then went to England and there was noticeable tension between the teams, and the English media were nastier than usual. It was obvious that it was not going to be an easy tour. The first two tests were drawn mainly because of rain but the sun was shining at Headingley and England won the toss and decided to bat on a wicket that had pace and bounce and a great deal of seam movement. Imran struck immediately and by lunch Pakistan had seized control of the match. It was a control they were not going to let go off. Pakistan bowled out England for 134 and at one stage for 31 for 5. The Pakistani fast bowlers, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, and Mohsin Kamal were on a rampage, getting three wickets each. Pakistan went on to make 353. Salim Malik made 99. It was a commanding lead and Imran was in his element as he ripped through England taking seven wickets for 40. Pakistan won by an innings and 18 runs. England had been outplayed.
In the final test at The Oval, Pakistan batted for 2 1/2 days, making 708 with Javed Miandad scoring 260 and Salim Malik 102, while Imran helped himself to a blistering 118. It was a huge total and England folded up, this time to spin and were bowled out for 240. Abdul Qadir, the leg spinner, a magician and the world's best, taking seven for 96. England followed on but helped by some dour batting and a few dropped catches were able to hold out for draw. Imran had reached two of the milestones.

Pakistan and India jointly hosted the World Cup later that year and were, of course to meet in the final at Eden Gardens in Calcutta. But both teams tripped up in the semifinals. Before a packed Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, a confident, some think an overconfident, Pakistan took on Australia. It was a semi-final that Pakistan should have won but did not, losing by 18 runs and the stunned crowd made their way home and Imran's hopes were dashed - for the time being.

England stayed behind to tour Pakistan, a tour whose memory will live in infamy. Still smarting from the series lost in England, it was apparent that there was no love lost between the two teams. Pakistan won the first test match at Lahore amidst mutterings from the English about poor umpiring. but it was during the second test match at Faisalabad that the tension boiled over. In what came to be known as the Shakoor Rana-Mike Gatting slanging match, there was a hot exchange and much finger-wagging between the umpire and the England captain. Play was suspended the next day because of prolonged parleys centred around the demand by umpire Shakoor Rana for an unconditional apology from Mike Gatting. The visiting media had a field day as they tried to dowse the fire with petrol! The apology was finally given and play was resumed and the tour continued. It is pertinent to note that no England team has toured Pakistan since, so there was no forgiving and forgetting from England's side.