Cricketer, born in Lahore, NE Pakistan. He studied at Oxford, playing in his first Test at 18 while at the university. One of the greatest all rounders, he was a fast bowler, adaptable batsman, and astute captain who inspired Pakistan's rise to prominence in world cricket. After leading Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup, he retired with a total of 3807 runs and 362 wickets in Test matches. He also played for Sussex and Worcester. His highly publicized nine-year marriage to Jemima Goldsmith ended in 2004. In addition to following a career in politics, forming his own party, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (Pakistan Justice Movement), he is a cricket commentator.
Imran Khan (Urdu/Pashto: عمران احمد خان نیازی) (Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi; Imran played Test cricket for Pakistan between 1971 and 1992, and was captain of the national team when they won their maiden World Cup in 1992. Currently, Imran is a member of Parliament and leader of the political party, the Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice).
Imran is from the Niazi Pashtun Shermankhel tribe of mianwali Pakistan. Imran attended Aitchison College and the Cathedral School in Lahore until he finished middle school, then entered the Royal Grammar School, Worcester, before completing his formal schooling with an undergraduate degree in economics from Keble College, Oxford. While at University, Imran was also the captain of the Oxford University cricket team in 1974. He and his mother Shaukat khanum come from a cricketing burki family, with two of his cousins Javed Burki and Majid Khan also having played Test cricket for Pakistan.
Imran is seen as one of the finest all-rounders the game has ever produced, along with Garfield Sobers, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee and Wasim Akram. He was one of the fastest bowlers of the world during the late 1970s and early 1980s and in the later half of his career, one of the best batsmen in the Pakistan team.
This famous Pashtun is not only known for his performances on the field, but off the field as well.
Cricketer
Unimpressive debut
Imran made his Test debut against England at Birmingham in 1971 at the age of 18.
Imran didn't return to Pakistan after the series and instead joined the Royal Grammar School Worcester.
The turning point in Imran's career came in 1973, when he got admitted to Oxford University.
Transformation into a fast bowler
Imran returned to the Pakistan cricket team briefly in 1974, but didn't do well enough to become a regular in the team. Imran picked them out for some hostile bowling, to prove to them that they were incorrect in their earlier assessment of his potential as a fast bowler.
At the beginning of 1977, Imran still reckoned himself to be a better batsman than bowler, a view not shared by the team. At that stage of his career, Imran was if anything a better batsman than a bowler".
Following the Australian series, he toured the West Indies, where he met Tony Greig who signed him up for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket.
As the 1980s progressed, he began to reverse swing the old ball significantly, an art that was known to very few bowlers at that time.
Captain - Pakistan Cricket Team
Imran took over the captaincy of the Pakistan team from Javed Miandad in early 1982.
His first year as the captain was the peak of his career as a fast bowler as well as an all-rounder. Imran topped both the bowling and batting averages against England in the three Test series in 1982, taking 21 wickets and averaging 56 with the bat.
By the end of the series against India in 1982-83, Imran had taken 88 wickets in 13 Test matches over a period of one year. His career took a severe blow towards the end of the Test series against India, as he suffered from a stress fracture in the shin which kept him out of cricket for more than two years.
Between 1985 and 1992, Imran led Pakistan to its first series win in England and India, as well as to three creditable draws against the West Indies. He was declared the "man of the series" for the series wins in England and India, as well as two of the drawn series against the West Indies, further strengthening his image of reaching his peak against the strongest opposition.
As a captain Imran's focus was on taking a lot of responsibility on himself or "leading from the front" as he described it, thereby setting standards for others to follow.
Imran was also notable for being the first cricketer to argue fervently in favor of neutral umpires. Imran retired at the end of word-cup. However he changed his mind when Pakistan President General Zia-Ul-Haq personally requested him to return, which ended with Pakistan winning the next world-cup in Australia/NewZealand.
World Cup 1992
Imran's ultimate moment of glory as a captain and cricketer came at the end of his career, when he led Pakistan to victory in the ICC World Cup in 1992. Playing with a brittle batting lineup, Imran had to promote himself as a batsman to provide much needed stability in the top order together with Javed Miandad, even though his contribution as a bowler was minimal.
A combination of a shoulder injury that he carried through the tournament as well as differences with some senior members over the fact that many of the prizes (or rewards) were being garnered by Imran's charity hospital led to his retirement after the World Cup.
ESPN - Legends of Cricket
In 2001, Imran was voted 8th overall in the ESPN Legends of Cricket series list. The entry:
"He's God to me" says the former Test batsman Sanjay Manjrekar of Imran Khan. The fact these Indians are talking about a Pakistani is a reflection of Imran's unique place in the game. No wonder he's one of ESPN's Legends of Cricket.
A cavalcade of champions from across the cricket worlds have assembled here to pay tribute to the man who became known as "The Lion of Pakistan". And they go further - as batsman, bowler, Capitan and now politician and champion for his people, including the sick and underprivileged, Imran Khan has become one of the most significant figures ever to play the game.
Personal life and social work
Since retiring from Test cricket, Khan has devoted most of his time to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital &
His honours include being awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 1993 by the Pakistani government, Honorary Fellow of Keble College, Oxford and Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1983.
Marriage to Jemima Goldsmith
In 1995, he married Jemima (aka Haiqa) Khan who is the daughter of the late British billionaire Sir James Goldsmith.
Politician
In 1997, he has started a socio-political movement in Pakistan known as Movement for Justice (Urdu: Tehrik-e-Insaaf) and ran for office in the National Elections. He is very critical of the judicial system in Pakistan, which he says prevents accountability for the elite class in Pakistan.
Imran Khan is known for making a politically charged statements that have raised eyebrows, both when he was captain of the Pakistan team and later in his role as a politician. The first of these statements came during an India Pakistan match in Sharjah where Imran remarked, "Let's settle the Kashmir issue over the cricket match". Though Imran claimed that he had made that statement only casually.
In 2005, as leader of his party, Imran led a protest rally against the US led coalition which had desecrated the Holy Quran and made statements denouncing the Musharraf-Bush coalition. Imran continues to be critical of Pro-American policies of Pakistan government.
On December 7th 2005, he was elected as the Chancellor of University of Bradford, the first international personality to have been given the honour by the university.
During the recent visit in 2006 of George W. Bush to Pakistan, Imran was the only politician to attempt to hold a rally against his visit. The rally was stopped and Imran Khan was detained by the police.
Accusations of ball tampering
During Pakistan's tour of England in 1992, Pakistani bowlers were extremely effective against the English batsmen who were completely baffled by the then-emerging art of reverse-swing. Imran sued both Lamb and Botham for libel and was awarded £400,000 by a British court.
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