Childhood & Personal Life
Imran Khan Niazi was born on October 5, 1952, in Lahore, into a well-off Pashtun family to Ikramullah Khan Niazi and Shaukat Khanam.
He completed his schooling from English-medium Aitchison College, Lahore, and went to Royal Grammar School Worcester, England, to pursue higher studies.
He graduated in philosophy, politics and economics from Keble College, University of Oxford, in 1975. Hailing from a cricketing family, he played the game as a teenager in Pakistan and continued in England.
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Career
He made his test debut in the 1971 English series in Birmingham, but failed to make a mark due to his not-so-good performance.
In 1974, he debuted in One Day International (ODI) in the Prudential Trophy and was selected in the national team after returning to Pakistan.
His splendid performance against New Zealand and Australia during 1976-77 added to his rapid success, which made him a prominent fast bowler in Pakistan during the 1980s.
He was chosen as the captain of Pakistan cricket team in 1982. He performed stupendously as a fast bowler and all-rounder, leading his team to its first Test victory against England, at Lord’s, after 28 years.
Under his captaincy, Pakistan won 14 out of 48 test matches played, losing out on 8 and 26 resulting in a draw. In the ODI version, he played 139 matches, with 77 wins, 57 losses, and one tie.
A stress fracture in his shin kept him away from cricket for two years. He returned and gave Pakistan its first ever Test series win against India in 1987, followed by Test series win in England.
He retired in 1987, but returned in 1988, upon Pakistan President General Zia-ul-Haq’s request. He won a Test series against West Indies and was declared ‘Man of the Series’ for his 23-wicket haul in 3 tests.
In 1991, he established Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, a charity organization associated with research and development of cancer and other related diseases, named after his mother.
He retired from cricket in 1992, with 3807 runs and 362 wickets in tests and 3709 runs and 182 wickets in ODI.
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He entered politics in 1997 by setting up his own party ‘Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’ (PTI), as an initiative to eradicate mismanagement and corruption in Pakistan.
He contested in October 2002 elections and was elected as a Member Parliament from Mianwali.
In 2008, he founded Namal College, an associate college of the University of Bradford and established the 'Imran Khan Foundation.'
During the 2013 election campaign, he started ‘Naya Pakistan Resolution’, after which his party posed a threat to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
He rejected an offer to collaborate with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
He injured his head and back upon tumbling from a stage during a campaign rally, four days prior to elections and continued to vote appeal from the hospital but his party lost to the PML-N.
In the 2018 Pakistan general elections, Imran's party won the largest number of seats defeating the ruling PML-N. He took oath as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan on August 18, 2018.
His views on cricket have been published in different British and Asian newspapers and Indian publications, including Outlook, Guardian, Independent, and Telegraph.
He is actively involved with commentary on cricket matches for various sports networks, like Star TV, BBC Urdu, and TEN Sports.
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Records & Achievements
He became the hero of Pakistan in 1992 when he accomplished his greatest success winning the first ODI Cricket World Cup for Pakistan, defeating England in the finals, at Melbourne, despite suffering from a ruptured shoulder cartilage.
This all-rounder’s triple in 75 tests, comprising of 3000 runs and 300 wickets, is said to be the second fastest record behind English player Ian Botham’s 72.
His world records as a captain include most wickets, best bowling strike rate and best bowling average in test, and best bowling figures (8 wickets for 60 runs).
Awards
He received ‘The Cricket Society Wetherall Award’ for being the leading all-rounder in English first-class cricket, in 1976 and 1980.
He was honored with the ‘Sussex Cricket Society Player of the Year’ award in 1985.
He was awarded the second highest civilian award, Hilal-e-Imtiaz, from the Government of Pakistan.
In 2004, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Asian Jewels Awards, London, towards his support for various charity programmes.
He was given the Humanitarian Award at the 2007 Asian Sports Awards, in Kuala Lumpur, for setting up the first cancer hospital in Pakistan.
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He received the special silver jubilee award, along with other cricket legends, at the inaugural Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Awards, in Karachi, in 2009.
In 2009, he was inducted into the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame, as part of its centennial year celebration.
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh awarded him an honorary fellowship, towards his efforts for cancer treatment in Pakistan, in 2012.
He was declared ‘Person of the Year 2012’ by Asia Society and listed at #3 in the ‘top nine world leaders’ by GlobalPost.
Personal Life & Legacy
He married English socialite Jemima Goldsmith in a traditional Islamic ceremony in Paris, in May 1995, who converted to Islam before marriage. The couple re-married in a civil ceremony in Richmond, after a month. They have two sons – Sulaiman Isa (1996) and Kasim (1999). The couple ended their nine-year old marriage in June 2004, citing difficulties in adapting to the Pakistani life, by Jemima, as the reason.
His decision to foray into full-fledged politics struck his marriage, resulting in attacks by his opponents on the pretext of being related to Zionists, since Jemima’s father was a Jewish.
In January 2015, he married British-Pakistani divorcee Reham Khan, a former BBC weather girl, in a secret ceremony at his residence in Islamabad, despite objections from his own family. The marriage was short-lived and the two of them divorced in October 2015
In February 2018, he married his spiritual advisor Bushra Manika
