| Name |
Imran
Khan Niazi |
| Title |
Lion
of Lahore |
| Date
of Birth |
25
November, 1952 |
| Birth
Place |
Lahore,
Pakistan |
| Nationality |
Pakistani |
| Profession |
Cricketer,
Politician |
| Education |
*
Aitchison College, Lahore, Pakistan
* 'A' levels at Royal Grammar School, Worcester
* Economics and Politics at Keble College, Oxford
|
| Family |
Father:
Ikramullah Khan Niazi
Mother: Shaukat Khanum
ex Wife: Jemima Goldsmith
Sons: Suleiman and Kasim |
| Famous
cousins |
Javed
Burki and Majid Khan who captained Pakistan cricket
team |
| Family
Background |
Pashtun/Afghan
race of Niazi |
| Marriage
date |
married
Jemima Goldsmith in a Muslim ceremony on May 16th
1995 in Paris, France, then in a civil ceremony
in Richmond on June 21st. |
| Member |
member
of the National Assembly, the lower house of the
Pakistani parliament. |
| Debut |
*
first class game:Lahore against Sarghodha at the
age of sixteen.
* test match: England v Pakistan at Birmingham -
Jun 3-8, 1971
* team Captain: Oxford, 1974
* Pakistan Cricket Team Captain: 1982
* One day international: Pakistan v England at Nottingham,
The Prudential Trophy in 1974 |
| Last
test played by him |
Test
Match: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Faisalabad -
Jan 2-7, 1992
One day international: Pakistan v Englang
at Melbourne,Cricket World Cup Final, in 1991/92 |
| Major
teams he played for |
Pakistan,
New South Wales, Sussex, Pakistan International
Airlines (PIA), Oxford University, Worcestershire,
Dawood Hercules, Lahore City Cricket Association |
| Debut
Failure |
In
test debut in England, he was only 18 years old,
played one match and his game was not impressive. |
| Famous
classmate |
Benazir
Bhutto who studied Economic and Politics at Keble
College, Oxford in 1972 |
| Star
status |
Attained
Star status in 1980 when he had a huge crowd following
and a lot of female fans. |
| Playing
skills |
Bowling:
Is a fast in swing bowler, who would occasionally
bowl the ball that went straight. Right arm
bowler.
Batting: Right hand batsman. Technically
sound and very effective in difficult situations. |
| Captaincy |
In
1982 he took up the captaincy from Javed Miandad.
|
| Selection
Committee |
Insisted
on having veto powers over selection which didn't
go well with the BCCP council members.
|
| Highlights
of Captaincy |
*
82-83 Pakistan slaughtered Australia by beating
them three times in a row.
* In 1985 when Imran came out of his two year gap
due to his injury, he was still Pakistan's best
bowler and won the test series against Sri Lanka
at home 2-0.
* led the Pakistani team to it's first victory against
India on their home soil.
* Pakistan beat England away in 1987, this was Pakistan's
first test victory over England.
* He captained Pakistan in the world cup in 1992
which they won |
| Personal
Favourites |
Best allrounders : Clive Rice, Wasim Akram
Best Batsmen: Viv Richards and Sunil Gavaskar
Fastest bowler: Michael Holding
Captain: Ian Chapel |
| Injury |
1
April 1983, Xrays revealed a huge crack in Imran's
shin bone which took more than a year to heal. |
| Greatest
Achievement |
*
Won the World Cup Cricket competition in 1992.
* Opened Shaukat Khanum memorial hospital in Lahore
in 1996 in memory of his mother who died of Cancer.
It is the only hospital in Pakistan that does not
charge anything to patients who cannot afford the
treatment. |
| On
his ex-wife |
"She
has her own life. She is a free woman. I have nothing
to say about what she does. May God keep her happy".
|
| Also
dated |
Susannah
Costantine, ex-model Marie Helving, and artist Emma
Sargeant |
| Statistics |
Test
Matches: Played: 88
runs: 3807
wickets:362
Batting average: 37
centuries: 6
Bowling average: 22
Best bowling: 8/58
Top score:136 One
Day International
Played: 175
runs: 3709
wickets:362
Batting average: 33
centuries: 1
Bowling average: 26
Best bowling: 6/14
Top score: 102(not out) |
| His
Political party |
Tehreek-a-Insaf
(Campaign for Justice) |
| Honours |
Was
named Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1983 |
| Facts |
*
Gave up his first captaincy in 1975 to concentrate
on his exams
* While studying in Royal Grammar School, Worcester
he found it difficult to get into the Worcestershire
first eleven. The veterans at Worcestershire, Glenn
Turner, John Parker and Norman Gifford did not feel
that he had a future as a fast bowler and encouraged
him to concentrate on his batting and medium pace
restrictive bowling.
* Only son to his parents.
* was the first and only Pakistan Captain to win
a World Cup Final
* President General Zia Ul Haq appealed to
him to rejoin the cricket team after he retired
in 1988.
* Though he debuted in 1971 he took his maiden Test
wicket three years later, in 1974.
*
In 1982/83, he took 40 wickets in a Test series
against India |
| was
implicated |
by
a paternity suit by former girlfriend Sita White,
however he denied being the father of a girl named
Tyrian Jade. |
| Facing
Imran |
Kapil
dev: "Genuine speed is something that always
keeps the batsmen on guard and Imran had it in abundance"
Sunil Gavaskar: "It was always a challenge
facing up to him. With the new ball he was deadly
and quick and once the ball got old he could make
it swing like a banana. So as a batsman you can
never relax against him, even if you have a hundred
against your name,"
Greg Chappell: "At times he was unplayable
and he bowled as quick as Dennis Lille and Jeff
Thompson" |
| Quotes |
Cricket:
"Cricket is a pressure game,
and when it comes to an India-Pakistan match the
pressure is doubled."
One day cricket: "Greed is the essence
(and) the amount of one-day cricket being played
has devalued its own importance."
Kashmir: "If core issues like Kashmir
are addressed properly, Pakistan and India can move
towards normalisation of relations."
Pakistan: "Pakistan needs to have decentralisation
and a good local government system."
Politics: "That's why, in spite of being
defeated regularly in elections, I am not leaving
the field. It's tough, but then I love challenging
tasks."
On his marriage: "I suppose if my marriage
proves one point, it is that I am not a politician." |
| Ambition
that he achieved |
"I
wanted to be an outstanding player, that was my
ambition." |
