KEY POINTS
- Imran Khan is widely considered one of cricket’s all-time greats.
- But this week, he was not included in a video recapping the greatest moments of Pakistan’s team’s history.
- The video has been criticised by fans for seeking to remove Khan from the history of cricket.
Cricket legend-turned-politician Imran Khan was. Now he’s been quietly removed from Pakistan’s cricket history.
This week, the official Pakistan Cricket account posted a video on the social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter – recapping the greatest moments of the national team’s history.
“Making history isn’t just about one day, it’s about the legends we create and the tales we script,” the caption says.
“Pakistan Cricket Team – a legacy that echoes through time.”
Khan, who captained the team for a decade and led the team to World Cup victory in 1992, was notably not featured in the video.
The video has been criticised by fans for seeking to remove Khan from the history of cricket.
“Imran Khan, the cricketer and captain in Pakistan is unprecedented,”
“I hope this video is taken down by the PCB, edited and uploaded once again.”
Former women’s captain Urooj Mumtaz Khan was also critical.
“Reminiscing in Pakistan crickets history, 11 images of the 1992 World Cup win and not one pic or mention of the greatest that ever played the game for the country!”, she wrote on X.
“Imran Khan will go down in history as one of the greats of the global game!”
Who is Imran Khan?
Imran Khan made his cricket debut aged 16 in his home city of Lahore in Pakistan.
He made his Test debut in 1971 and secured a permanent place on Pakistan’s team in 1976.
Imran Khan led Pakistan to World Cup victory in 1992. Source: AAP / Steve Holland/AP
The all-rounder became captain in 1982 and led Pakistan to victory in the World Cup One-Day International cricket tournament in Australia in 1992, after which he retired.
Khan had a Test batting average of 37.69 and bowling average of 22.8.
In One-Day Internationals, his batting average was 33.4 and bowling average was 26.6, according to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
He is widely considered one of the all-time greats and in 2010 was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
After retiring from cricket, Khan began his foray into politics.
He founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in 1996 and in 2002 he won his first seat in parliament.
What’s happened to Imran Khan in recent times?
Khan was elected prime minister of Pakistan in 2018 and promised to fight corruption and improve the economy.
Four years later, in April 2022, .
Once criticised for being under the thumb of powerful generals, he was ousted following worsening relations between him and then army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Khan was later convicted by Pakistan’s election commission of selling state gifts unlawfully.
He denied all charges and depicted his removal and the charges as part of a campaign against him by Sharif, the United States and the Pakistani military – a claim all three have denied.
After being ousted, he led a series of anti-government protests, pressing for early elections and calling for the resignation of Shehbaz Sharif, who succeeded him as prime minister.
In November 2022 he was shot in the leg during a rally in what he described as an assassination attempt.
In May 2023 he was arrested on corruption charges, which led to violent protests by Khan’s supporters. The arrest .
The government denounced the ruling and said it was determined to find other legal avenues to arrest him.
In early August, Khan was arrested for a second time.
He was sentenced to three years in prison for “corrupt practices” and barred from politics for five years.
