A combative left-hand opener, Aamer Sohail was a predominantly back-foot player whose forte was improvisation. His first Test hundred was a big one - 205 in his third Test, at Old Trafford in 1992. Sohail loved to attack, and seemingly at time found it impossible to control his aggression, as when he baited Venkatesh Prasad in a 1996 World Cup quarter-final in front of a hostile Bangalore crowd, only for Prasad to have the last laugh after dismissing him.

Sohail was an effective left-arm spinner, more a one-day bowler than a Test wicket-taker. He played a big part in Pakistan's World Cup triumph in 1992, and famously told Ian Botham that he might want to send his mother-in-law in to bat after Botham was controversially given out for 0 in the final. He captained Pakistan at the height of the match-fixing controversies of the 1990s, and was among the whistle-blowers during the investigations and enquiries that followed. His career suffered as a result, and he left the international scene early to work in broadcasting.