| 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 | 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 | * 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.” |
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