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For the cricketer of the same name from the West Indies, see Imran Khan (Trinidad and Tobago cricketer).

Imran Khan
Imran Khan in 2007
Source: , 1 January 2007

Imran Khan (Urdu/Pashto: عمران احمد خان نیازی) (Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi; son of Ikram Ullah Khan Niazi Shermankhel) born November 25 1952, in Mianwali is a Pakistani former cricketer turned politician. 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 Khan is a member of Parliament, leader of Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) the political party that he founded.

Early life and education

Imran is from the Niazi Pashtun Shermankhel tribe of Mianwali, Pakistan. His family is settled in Lahore Punjab, however, he still considers his background Pathan as per his autobiography (Warrior Race: A Journey Through the Land of the Tribal Pathans). Imran attended Aitchison College and the Cathedral School in Lahore until he finished middle school, then entered the Royal Grammar School, Worcester. He was an undergraduate at Keble College, Oxford, where he read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. He was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Arts and subsequently that of Master of Arts of the University of 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 family--the Burki's, with two of his cousins, Javed Burki and Majid Khan, also having played Test cricket for Pakistan.

Cricket

Imran is seen as one of the finest all-rounders the game has ever produced, along with Garfield Sobers, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev,and Richard Hadlee. He achieved the "All-rounder's triple" (3000 runs and 300 wickets) in 75 tests, the second fewest behind Botham's 72.

In April 2007, Imran was voted as the greatest all-rounder in a readers poll by Cricinfo. He claiming 37% of the votes, beating Sir Garfield Sobers who was second with 14% out of the 20 all-rounders Cricinfo had selected. Incidentally Cricinfo's panel chose Sobers as the greatest all-rounder independent of the poll.

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. (He has the second highest average of all time for a test batsman batting at number 6.)

Perhaps more significantly, as a captain, he transformed the Pakistan team, previously known for its exceptional talent but lack of coherence into a well-moulded unit. Imran played his last test match for Pakistan in January 1992 vs Sri Lanka at Faisalabad and last ODI being the World Cup final vs England at Melbourne in March 1992 resulting in the world cup glory and truimph for his country.

Unimpressive debut

Imran made his Test debut against England at Birmingham in 1971 at the age of 18. His performance was unimpressive as his wayward medium-pace bowling proved short of what was required at that level. By the end of the series, the senior cricketers in the team had written him off as a sub-standard Test player.

Imran didn't return to Pakistan after the series but instead joined the Royal Grammar School Worcester. There was little progress in his career over the next two years, as he struggled to get into the Worcestershire county team. Veterans of the team, notably Glenn Turner and Norman Gifford, encouraged him to concentrate on his batting as they felt that he did not have the potential to be a fast bowler.

The turning point in Imran's career came in 1973, when he got admitted to Oxford University. This gave him a chance to play regular domestic cricket, and the added responsibility of being the captain spurred him into becoming a better batsman as well as a better bowler.

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. It was not until late in 1976, following a successful season with his county club, Worcestershire, that he was picked again for the national squad. His opponent was New Zealand, which included two of his former teammates from Worcestershire, John Parker and Glenn Turner. 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. This changed dramatically in January 1977, when in a matter of few days during the three Test series in Australia, he was transformed from an erratic medium pacer to a fast bowler of genuine pace. Pakistan scored an expected win in the deciding match of the series, thanks largely to his 12 wickets haul. This rapid improvement was mentioned by Dennis Lillee in his autobiography: "He improved so much as the tour progressed that I couldn't recognize the finished product against what I had seen of him in England in 1975. 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. The two years of intense cricket at World Series Cricket molded him into a more complete fast bowler. Under the guidance of John Snow and Mike Procter, his bowling action became side-on, totally different from his javelin thrower like action of the early 1970s. This new action helped him mix his stock in-swinging deliveries with the one that left the right hand batsman. His credentials as one of the fastest bowlers of the world were further established when he finished third at a fast bowling contest at Perth in early 1979, behind Jeff Thomson and Michael Holding, but ahead of Dennis Lillee, Garth Le Roux and Andy Roberts.

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. This was a skill that he passed on to his successors, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, by the end of the decade.

Captain - Pakistan Cricket Team

Imran took over the captaincy of the Pakistan team from Javed Miandad in early 1982. Many who thought that this would adversely affect his cricket, as had happened to Ian Botham, were sceptical about this move. But as was the case when he captained Oxford University, the extra responsibility helped him take his performances to a higher level.

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. Later the same year, he devastated the formidable Indian batting on the flat Pakistani wickets by taking 40 wickets in six Tests at an average of 13.95.

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. An experimental treatment funded by the Pakistan Government helped him recover by the end of 1984 and he made a successful comeback to international cricket in the later part of the 1984-85 season.

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. This was contrary to the widely accepted norm of a good captain being more of a strategic planner, like England's Mike Brearley. His approach was very successful in getting the best out of the younger players of the team and the Pakistani cricket team achieved unprecedented success during this period, despite not having as brilliant a set of players as in the 1970s or the 1990s. However, he was often criticized by some in the media, as well as a few former players for being "authoritarian".

Imran was also notable for being the first cricketer to argue fervently in favor of neutral umpires. He led the initiative by asking for neutral umpires for the home series against West Indies in 1986-87 and 1990-91, as well as the home series against India in 1989-90. India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 world-cup, both lost in semi-finals which ended the much-hyped India-Pakistan final at Eden Garden. Imran retired at the end of word-cup. However he changed his mind when Pakistan President Of Pakistan 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 Cricket World Cup in 1992. Pakistan had entered into the tournament as underdogs, but recovered from the verge of knockout to lift the cup. 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.

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. The British media made allegations of cheating against the bowlers with England captain Ian Botham and teammate Allan Lamb being most vocal about their accusations. Imran sued both Lamb and Botham for libel and was awarded £400,000 by a British court.

Personal life and social work

Since retiring from Test cricket, Khan has devoted most of his time to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, a state-of-the-art charitable cancer hospital he established in Lahore using donations. Since 1997 though his focus has been his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

His honours include being awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 1993 by the Pakistani government, Honorary Fellow of Keble College, Oxford and Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1983. He is also currently the Chancellor of the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom and patron of the Born in Bradford research project.

Imran Khan is also alleged to have a daughter out of wedlock with Sita White, daughter of Lord "Gordy" White, a few years before he married Jemima Goldsmith. A US judge ruled him to be the father of Tyrian White after he failed to appear for a DNA test.

Marriage to Jemima Goldsmith

In 1995 he married Jemima Khan, the daughter of the late British billionaire Sir James Goldsmith. Jemima Khan embraced Islam before she married Khan. They announced their divorce on 22 June 2004. They have two sons named Qasim and Suleiman. Jemima was lately dating British actor Hugh Grant but announced a break-up on 18 February, 2007. Coincidentally, Khan is good friends with Grant's ex, Elizabeth Hurley. Khan has previously been romantically linked with Susannah Constantine.

Political career

In 1997, he started a socio-political movement in Pakistan known as the Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) and ran for office in the National Elections. The movement's main focus is to bring justice to the people of Pakistan, largely via an independent judiciary. The party has Islamic overtones and was inspired partly by Khan's renewed commitment to Islam. He became a Member of Parliament for Mianwali in the October 2002 elections. He is very critical of the judicial system in Pakistan, which he says prevents accountability for the elite class in Pakistan. Initially Imran supported 1999's militray coup of General Pervez Musharraf, however came in to the fore-front of those against General and President Musharraf.

Imran Khan is known for making 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. Versions of this statement are often used as jokes in Pakistan.

In 2005, as leader of his party, Imran led a protest rally against the US-led coalition for allegedly desecrating the Holy Quran and made statements denouncing the Musharraf-Bush coalition. He described Musharraf as President Bush's Blue-Eye-Boy, however President Clinton was even reluctant to shake hands with Musharraf. Imran continues to be critical of Pro-American policies of Pakistan government. According to a senior leader of PTI "Khan has more than a soft corner for the ousted Afghan Taliban"

PTI condemn Rushdie Honor

PTI condemns the Salman Rushdie's honor by Queen Elizabeth. Members of PTI in northwestern Peshawar chanted "Curse Rushdie, Long Live Osama Bin Laden".

On December 7 2005, he was elected as the Chancellor of University of Bradford, the first international personality to have been given the honour by the university. In March 2006, four Bradford students were arrested and detained under the Terrorism Act 2000, on suspicion of terrorism-related offences. In 2007, all four were tried and found guilty of possessing material for terrorist purposes.

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.

Imran's current projects including building a branch of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in Karachi and a University in his hometown of Mianwali.

Disqualification Reference Against Imran Khan

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) filed a reference against Tehrik-i-Insaaf chief Imran Khan to National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain and Election Commission of Pakistan, seeking disqualification of the Tehrik-i-Insaaf leader under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution and the Public Representation Act, 1976.

Academic offices
Preceded byZaheer Abbas	Pakistan Cricket Captain 1982-1983	Succeeded bySarfraz Nawaz
Preceded byZaheer Abbas	Pakistan Cricket Captain 1985-1987	Succeeded byAbdul Qadir
Preceded byAbdul Qadir	Pakistan Cricket Captain 1989-1992	Succeeded byJaved Miandad
Preceded byBaroness Lockwood	Chancellor of the University of Bradford 2005–present	Succeeded byIncumbent

References

"Imran Khan: a brief biography". eSSORTMENT. 2005-04-29. Retrieved 2006-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
'The Interview: Anything he Khan't do?', The Oxford Student, 5th Week, Trinity Term 1999
Cricinfo greatest all-rounder
http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/221606.html
http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2004/06/22/jemimakhan/
Imran Khan and Jemima divorce. BBC News. Retrieved on 04 May, 2007.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6370675.stm?ls
http://www.bollywoodmantra.com/1177_imran-khan-invites-sushmita-sen-for-fundraising-of-his-cancer-hospital.html
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,864290,00.html
http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsDec2002/newsbeatdec5.htm
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/65ACF62D-93FA-4110-B91C-3FC08C3195E8.htm
Press Association (2006-03-06). "Anti-terror police arrest four in Bradford". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
"Extremist students are sentenced". BBC News. 2007-07-26. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/06/13/top5.htm

External links

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