The Lion of Lahore is the subject of an interesting new biography and has an invitation to Lord's next summer
This autumn saw the publication of a
new biography of Imran Khan, penned by Christopher Sandford. The Lion of Lahore has sadly had less success in politics than he had on the cricket field, but remains a popular figure in Pakistan, admired as much for his fundraising for his cancer hospital and other charities as for his cricketing exploits. The portraits of Imran painted by the Western media over the years range from the simplistic to the wildly inaccurate. Sandford has set out to do a better job, and to bring the story up to date. I look forward to finding out whether he has been successful.
Incidentally, Imran has been invited to Lord’s next summer to deliver the 2010 MCC Spirit of Cricket
Cowdrey Lecture. I believe the last time he visited Lord’s in an official capacity was in 1993, when he helped to present the Indian subcontinent’s successful bid to host the 1996 World Cup. At an acrimonious and in many ways historic meeting, England eventually had to withdraw their own bid for the tournament and come to terms with the fact that they could no longer bully ICC members into doing their bidding. Imran recalled, “I was appalled… Most of the Englishmen still treated us as though we represented some junior colony.”
