Cricket Blog

Idolized by millions of Pakistanis since he led the national cricket team, the king of sports in the country, in its sole World Cup victory in 1992, Imran Khan hopes today "revolutionize" the country by its entry into politics. At 60, Imran Khan always displays a sporty and still bears in his beautiful brown mane despite the patina of time. All of which make it the only real celebrity in a country that is singularly lacking in glamor.

"We will vote for Imran is a new man, and because all the others have failed," was probably the most heard phrase among his supporters, many of them young, at meetings where their leader has electrified crowds.

Political sensation of the moment, the former cricket star has to grow at the polls on Saturday, during the parliamentary elections, the new image of man and his aggressive campaign by breaking the monopoly of the traditional parties.

His slogans are simple: change the country back into place the wealthy elite who confiscates the power to eradicate corruption, solve the energy crisis, stand up to Washington too pressing the fight against terrorism and try to discuss with Islamist rebels Taliban.

Khan appeals especially the young urban middle class tired of the old traditional parties but it is unclear whether she will vote en masse Saturday. "The revolution is underway," he assured last week told AFP in a meeting in his native Punjab, the most populous province in the country margin.

His fiercest critics call him "Taliban Khan" describing it as a dangerous demagogue and populist conservative and as a naive American who slams but savings Taliban extremists, believing that this will improve the situation.

But Tuesday night, as he was about to make a speech in Lahore (east), Khan was a heavy fall of several meters. Head injuries, he was transported to the hospital. His party then assured that he was not seriously injured, but did not specify if keep sequelae.

His Movement for Justice (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, PTI) conducted an effective campaign, including on the Internet. But the influx of opportunistic politicians from traditional parties began to tarnish its image of White Knight.

A few days before the election, observers however reassess their chances on the rise, even if they can not see well ahead of the favorite, the PML-N of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

An Oxford graduate, he was soon noticed in English cricket clubs. At age 19, he began the national team of Pakistan. Not necessarily the most talented in the beginning, he worked hard to become the best player in the history of Pakistani cricket.

Follow the "Playboy" and his retirement years, surrounded very nightclubs in the most exclusive of London, until his marriage to Jemima Goldsmith, daughter of the Franco-British financial tycoon Jimmy Goldsmith in 1995.

She converted to Islam and the couple settled in the Khan family in Lahore. They had two boys, but divorced in 2004 because, according to some sources, adjustment difficulties Jemima Pakistan.

Imran Khan has since become famous for its charity projects for his past cricket star, including building the best hospital in Lahore cancer treatment in the country, in honor of his mother.