Is Imran Khan ready for 'long spell'?

Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar were among those cricket greats from India whom former Pakistan captain Imran Khan had invited to his oath-taking as prime minister in 2018. The two regretted citing international commitment but did send their best wishes to him. So, one was not surprised to see their names among the world's top former skippers who had played against him one time or another had expressed their concern over reports about his 'health' condition and asked Pakistani authorities to provide better health facilities. The strong statement from Imran Khan's former cricket colleagues came after a series of stories in the media regarding his ailment and eye condition.

Whether it's a coincident or not but the fact remains that the Federal Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, is also the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and it would be interesting to see how he react to the said petition, but government ministers claimed Imran is being looked after well, the opposition think otherwise. Irrespective of politics but these cricketers command great respect in the cricketing world.

While the government claims that the former prime minister is being treated well and getting all facilities, I wonder whether it also includes TV facilities and if so, whether he had, but the opposition and family members alleged he is being treated badly and is in isolation.

Prison and politics are altogether a different ball game, and Imran now has experience of both. One thing is key in both, i.e., fitness.

Imran, 73, known for keeping himself fit during his cricketing days and regarded among the world's finest all-rounders now in Adiala prison in Rawalpindi for more than two years, and recent reports and speculations in regard to 'eye infection' hit the headlines in the national and international media. While the government claims he has been looked after well and was also taken to the hospital for a medical check-up, Imran's family and his party leaders expressed concern over the delay in the treatment and demanded that his personal physicians should be allowed to visit him.

The former captains who have issued a joint statement include Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar from India; Naseer Hussain, Atherton, David Gower from England; Chappell Brothers, Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Kim Hughes from Australia; Clive Lloyd from West Indies, and John Wright from New Zealand. Their petition was confined to his health condition, and they did not touch on his political beliefs or narrative. The petition says, "As fellow cricketers who understand the value of fair play and respect and transcend the boundary rope, that person of Imran Khan's stature deserves to be treated with dignity and basic human consideration befitting a former national leader and sporting icon."

Imran Khan, who entered politics in 1996, three years after he quit cricket and registered his name as among the greatest all-rounder of his time and captain of the winning Pakistan team during the 1992 World Cup, formed his own party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which is arguably the country's largest party. He has been in prison on different charges since August 2023.

While he always considered cricket as his 'first love', Imran stopped watching matches during his peak days in politics, except during the Pakistan-India match. Initially, he was also invited as a cricket expert during international events, but he himself withdrew his name due to political engagements. During his early days in politics, his comments on cricket affairs drew more attention than his political statements.

Even his close associate, late Naeemul Haq, once interrupted when I asked his comment on a cricket story I was doing, "Yar, Mazhar iss sey siasat per baat karo cricket sey retire ho gay ha." I replied, "Naeem, aaj bhi uss kay cricket comment chaltey hein, sisast kay nehi." Imran always discusses cricket whenever I meet him, but I realised in the last few years he had stopped watching matches. I still remember once I got a chance to meet him, and on the same day the Pakistan-Australia match was due in Australia, I asked him about Pakistan's chances, and he just asked, "Which ground?" and said, "I don't know much about the present Pakistan team, but to beat Australia in Australia is always difficult."

Most of the cricket greats who had signed the petition happened to be world-class batsmen or all-rounders, and all of them had faced Imran's fiery spell, and their appeal never looked politically motivated and was linked to health issues of a person they personally know and respect.

Normally, these greats don't indulge in political games; some of them had even taken a strong position during the recent cricket controversy during the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup after Bangladesh refused to play in India and asked for a neutral venue, citing security reasons. Bangladesh's concerns were based on the pretext that if their player Mustafizur Rahman could be dropped for IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, owned by Bollywood great Shah Rukh Khan, for security and safety reasons, what guarantee could the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) give that nothing would happen? The controversy reached the point that even the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reacted and backed Bangladesh's position. The controversy reached the point when Pakistan refused to play against India unless Bangladesh decided to review its decision. Finally, the issue was resolved after the International Cricket Council (ICC) agreed to accommodate Bangladesh.

As the political situation stands, a 'million dollar' question is: Is Imran prepared and ready for a 'long spell'? With a reputation for being a person who always keeps himself fit, and before being arrested, many considered him among the fittest compared to his two main political rivals, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and former premier Nawaz Sharif, but the recent reports about his health certainly indicate that he is not fully well, something quite understandable.

Many of his political opponents were not sure whether he would be able to stay in prison for long, and some had even predicted he would seek a 'deal' and go abroad; others were of the view that he might 'break down'. To his credit, he proved them wrong, and he defeated all such assumptions. One of the reasons which perhaps our top leaders could not understand is that a person who could even bowl in 44 or 45 degrees and remain in the field for the whole day would be in prison.

But, as far as his party is concerned, it is in complete disarray. The party and its leaders fighting more against each other and failed to launch a movement clearly reflect they lack the political capacity, something a matter of concern for Imran himself.

While Imran apparently is ready for a long inning, it has been long since he had been produced in any case thus whatever stories coming from Adiala jail is 'official' while no one knows the other side of the story due to lack of access. So, it is a wait-and-see situation, but one thing that looks certain is that after the appeal from big names in cricket, things may go better for him. In our political scenario, such appeals do matter.

The writer is a journalist and columnist for GEO, The News and Jang.

X:@MazharAbbasGEO