|
|
Copyright
Imran was born on 25 November 1952 in Lahore, Pakistan. He grew up in
Zaman Park where cricket was a great part of his family life, his
cousins Javed Burki and Majid Khan later captained Pakistan.
Imran was educated at the prestigious Aitchison College, Lahore where he
proved to be a fine batsman and made his first class test debut for
Lahore against Sarghodha at the age of sixteen.
He made his test debut in England, 1971 as a raw 18 year old but only got to play one match
and failed to show his full potential. However, Imran had left an impression on Worcestershire's wing
commander William Shakespeare who had also seen him play in Pakistan and decided to sign up Imran.
Imran studied for his A-levels at the Royal Grammar School, Worcester and then went onto study Economics and
Politics at Keble College, Oxford in 1972, where Benazir Bhutto was his classmate. He was elected captain
of Oxford in 1974 but gave up the captaincy in 1975 to concentrate on final exams.
He started playing for Worcestershire in 1975 after completing his education and in 1977 moved to Sussex.
His star status was established during the 1980's and crowds mobbed him wherever he went. All young budding
cricketers wanted to be like him and he also had a great female following. Imran was not expecting this sort of
adulation and his parents made him realise that he should always keep his feet firmly on the ground and that this was
all bestowed upon him by God.
Imran was declared the international cricketer of the year in 1989-90
Imran's desire was to be recognised as the best all rounder in Pakistan and eventually as the best all rounder in the
world, which he successfully managed to achieve. In his peak, he was considered the fastest bowler in the world.