Will Aamir Khan keep his promise and visit Pakistan for Imran Khan’s oath-taking ceremony as PM?
Imran Khan has invited cricketers Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Navjot Singh Sidhu, and Bollywood star Aamir Khan to Pakistan for his oath-taking ceremony as Pakistan’s Prime Minister. Imran’s party (The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) emerged as the single largest party in the recently-concluded general elections in Pakistan.
But why only Aamir Khan from the film industry?
It seems back in 2012, when Imran Khan was in India as a guest at a media event, Aamir had said: “When you win the elections, I will come to Pakistan to celebrate your victory. And I will bring a lot of Indians with me.”
@aamir_khan #Pakistan is waiting. Let the #celebrations begin @ImranKhanPTI pic.twitter.com/zYKT1Uu94W
— Esharat Nasar-Ahmed (@EsharatQ) July 30, 2018
I guess that is one of the reasons why only Aamir Khan has been extended the invitation.
So will Aamir keep his promise? Lets wait and watch!
Sunil Gavaskar had predicted Imran Khan’s rise to PM in 2012.
Sunil Gavaskar had predicted Imran Khan’s rise to the PM’s post when commentating, along with Rameez Raja, back in 2012 Asia Cup match between India and Bangladesh.
“When we were playing there was obviously Viv Richards who used to brutalise you by hooking and pulling, then there was Mr. Gavaskar who used to neutralise the likes of Imran Khan by swaying away from the line of the ball. I fielded at short leg and Imran, every now and then, every 10 minutes came up to me and said ‘dekho yeh kaise khelta hai’.”
Responding to the statement, Gavaskar said: “Be very careful Rambo; who you are mimicking on television, could be the next Prime Minister of Pakistan.”
Imran Khan on Indian Cricketers
According to Imran Khan, Sunil Gavaskar was the best batsman in the world. He faced a West Indies attack that had four world class bowlers and this puts him in a pedestal higher than Sachin Tendulkar.
“Sachin never played an innings like Gavaskar did. Look, Gavaskar faced a West Indies attack that had four world class fast bowlers. His record does not tell his actual contribution. I always felt sorry for him when he, alone, used to face a range of fast bowlers when there were none in his own country before Kapil Dev arrived on the scene,” said Imran asked to compare the two greats.
“Sunny played in an era when Dennis Lillee, arguably the best fast bowler, played. Zaheer’s (Abbas) timing was impeccable. Majid (Khan) was also the best at his peak and then there was Javed (Miandad). But I do not want to undermine Sachin’s achievements and believe comparing players from different eras is not fair,” he added.
Imran Khan and Bollywood
We all know that people all over the world, including millions of Indians, are big fan of Pakistani cricket legend Imran Khan, but did you know that our Bollywood superstars (including Salman Khan & Shahrukh Khan) are also fan of Imran Khan.
Sparks flew when Zeenat Aman and Imran met during one of Pakistan’s tours of India in the 70s or 80s. There were instances when Imran’s friends pulled his leg over his somewhat fatigued output on the field the next day.
There’s a scene in in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Jhooti where Rekha tells Raj Babbar as “side se dekho to bilkul Imran Khan”.
