Imran Khan in 1992 (L) and Imran Khan after his arrest in 2023 (R) (Source: AFP/X)
After getting knocked out of the semi-finals in the ODI World Cup in 1983 and 1987, destiny finally smiled on the Imran Khan-led Pakistan cricket team in 1992, when they clinched their maiden World Cup title.
This World Cup glory under Imran Khan was no less than a new life for a nation that was already enduring a lot of struggle since its formation. It was the era when the musical chair between military dictatorship and democracy had hurt the country to its core.
Amidst all this, the news of becoming World Champions came like a bit of a band-aid for every Pakistani soul bleeding from the hardships in a nation that had nothing to take pride in. This victory also turned Imran Khan into a synonym of Pakistan’s cricketing identity across the world.
But what has happened to Pakistan’s national hero over the last few years has raised questions about whether they really deserve icons of Imran Khan’s stature, or whether they're destined to face the same fate they have been through since the country’s formation.
This article examines how Pakistan, as a state, has failed Imran Khan, the man who elevated the country’s global stature and what this failure reveals about a nation’s treatment of its heroes.
‘Imran Khan’ cricketing legacy: The truth that can’t be undone in Pakistan’s history
1971 was the year when the Pakistan cricket team was struggling to find its feet amidst civil and political unrest in the country. On June 3, 1971, a young 19-year-old, 6 ft. tall youngster made his Test debut for his country's national cricket team in the Birmingham Test against England.
At that time, nobody in Pakistan would have thought that this very 19-year-old would turn millions of dreams into reality, 21 years later, in Australia.
In his international career spanning more than two decades, Khan, with his all-round abilities, was far more brilliant than many of the best batters and bowlers of that era.
In his celebrated career, including the ‘World Champion’ tag, the legendary skipper played 88 Tests and 175 ODIs. In these appearances, he scored 3807 runs in 126 Test innings at an average of 37.69, hitting six centuries and 18 half-centuries.
In ODIs, he ended up with 3709 in 151 innings, averaging 33.41, with one century and 19 half-centuries. Besides that, he claimed 362 Test wickets in 142 innings, alongside 182 ODI wickets in 153 innings.
The retirement reversal and leaving at the top
After the 18-run defeat against Australia in the first semi-final of the 1987 World Cup in his hometown, Lahore, Imran Khan decided to hang up his boots in international cricket. But what followed his decision proved that the country wasn’t ready to let their biggest cricketing icon leave the field.
The then-military ruler, General Zia-ul-Haq, and the Pakistan Cricket Board requested Imran to reverse his retirement. Subsequently, the most successful captain of Pakistan led them in the 1992 World Cup, marking his third consecutive appearance as captain in the prestigious cricket quadrennial.
Later, in the 1992 World Cup final against England, the Pakistan felt euphoria at the moment when Imran Khan bowled a slower one to Richard Illingworth, and it ended up in a big edge before landing in the hands of Ramiz Raja at mid-off, giving the Men in Green their first-ever World Cup title.
This World Cup-winning delivery also happened to be the full stop on the illustrious and historic cricketing career of Imran Khan. A fairy tale had come to an end, with a last laugh for the protagonist, as it happens in a cinematic story.
It was the leader of Khan's calibre who instilled in the ‘cornered tigers’ the belief that they could be the World Champions. In the aftermath of this World Cup glory, many cricketing greats flourished in Pakistan, who always named Imran Khan as their inspiration to take up the sport.
The glory and greatness fell prey to manholes of political filth
There was a time in 1992, after the glorious World Cup win, when the then-Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, praised the national hero Imran Khan. But everything turned on its head when Khan announced his own political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, on April 25, 1996.
Khan’s political entry exposed the horrific face of politics, as friendships turned into rivalries and friends became enemies. Those who always took him with them to showcase as a national pride started dragging him down to the level of their political filth.
Finally, 22 years after his first foray into politics, Khan became Prime Minister of the country in 2018, as his party emerged as the single-largest party in the general elections. Unfortunately, in 2022, he also met the same fate as a Prime Minister that all his predecessors ended up with.
Khan’s government was toppled and taken over by Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of Khan’s old friend, Nawaz Sharif. What happened after that was just another episode of Pakistan’s age-old tradition of demeaning its leaders.
Just to live up to their rotten tradition, the government and military establishment didn’t bother to realise the difference between the corrupt politicians and the hero who once held the country's head high in the cricketing map of the world.
In the aftermath of his ouster from the Prime Ministership, Khan was arrested and pushed to solitary confinement in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. The man who once carried the millions of dreams on his shoulders is struggling with life and death amidst inhumane treatment in jail for more than two years.
Imran Khan’s current health condition has wrenched the hearts of the cricketing greats who played alongside him. The greats like Sunil Gavaskar, Greg Chappell, and Allan Border have signed a petition requesting humane treatment for the one of the greatest cricketers of their era.
Also Read: Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis Urge Pakistan Govt To Provide Medical Care To Imran Khan
Inspiration turns into horrific lesson for generations to come in Pakistan
Amidst a rise of voices from the cricketing legends of other countries, humanity still seems to be on an uncertain leave in the very country Imran Khan devoted his entire life to.
The man who once envisioned the future of cricket in his own country is left with only 15 per cent vision in one eye, but nobody cares in a nation like Pakistan that has a history of turning their national heroes into horrific lessons for the generations to come.
The ‘Imran Khan’ chapter from the World Cup podium in Melbourne to the confined Adiala barrack in Rawalpindi has a loud and clear message: “Dear Pakistani kids, never dare to bring glory to your country, otherwise they’ll make you the next Khan.”
Whenever the kids achieve anything in the future, it will always leave their parents thinking twice, with a fear and a wish that “their kids don’t achieve anything as big as Imran Khan did, because glories don’t meet the glorified end in Pakistan.”
Also Read: Mohsin Naqvi Accused Of Plotting Imran Khan's Murder; Official Statement Released
