Most Indians want Imran to succeed as Pakistan PM: Gavaskar

India’s cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar is happy on Imran Khan’s becoming the prime minister of Pakistan and expressed his good wishes for his old friend and contemporary cricketer and said that he would succeed as prime minister of Pakistan.

In his article appeared in Indian newspaper ‘Times of India’, he said that Imran has always accepted challenges and now “he embarks on the greatest challenge of his life”.

Gavaskar wrote: “He is the only prime minister of Pakistan who has come to India several times as an ordinary citizen and has interacted not only with the high societal types but also the man on the street who met him as a fan. He should, therefore, be well aware that most Indians would want him to succeed as a prime minister and usher in a new era of friendship, and look forward not back.”

The cricketer-turned-commentator also wrote that “Just like in cricket, a captain is only as good as his team and so much will depend on his colleagues”.

“If his success as the cricket skipper is anything to go by, he will instill not just a sense of self-belief but also destiny in his ministerial and party colleagues.”

Gavaskar remembered the days of his friendship with Imran when they played against each other and also once played together.

“We have known each other since 1971 when he was trying to qualify for Worcestershire County team. He was then just a scrawny kid, a medium pacer with an open chested action bowling inswingers but with little or no control. By the time we played him in a Test match seven years down the road, he had filled up and was now genuinely quick. The inswingers were still his stock deliveries but he had also developed the one that went straight through and got batsmen out caught behind as they played inside the line anticipating the inswinger.”

When he told Imran in 1986 that he was planning his retirement after the tour of England, Imran reacted strongly and said, “You can’t retire now. Pakistan is coming to India next year and I want to beat India in India. If you aren’t part of that team, it won’t be the same. Come on let’s have one last tilt against each other”.

However, Gavaskar played that series and Imran captaining Pakistan “won the last and final Test of that series after the earlier Tests were all drawn and thus beat India for the first time in India”.

He also praised Imran’s ‘vision’ during the World Cup 1992, in which he lifted the trophy as Pakistan captain. “He had a vision before the 1992 World cup started that Pakistan would win the trophy and that’s exactly how it turned out. His belief despite Pakistan’s slow start to the tournament was unshakeable”.

Gavaskar also lauded his will power and said: “When he decided to enter the game he gave it everything and today, after tasting defeat in a couple of earlier elections, he is ready to take on the mantle of the prime minister of Pakistan”.

In the end of his article, Gavaskar wished him saying: “Good luck and God bless, Immy.”