Opinion Express View: Pakistan’s missing cricket hero
In a 2.2-minute video celebrating the nation’s cricketing achievements, we only catch a fleeting glimpse of Imran Khan. The former PM deserves to be judged on his laurels on the field rather than his record in politics
The video without Khan makes for awkward viewing. A sporting hero is a sporting hero. He deserves to be judged on his laurels on the field rather than his record in politics. 
The design was to regale the world about the glories of Pakistan cricket; instead it ended up showing the vindictive nature of politics that has gripped the country. A 2.2-minute video celebrating the nation’s achievements on the 22-yard-strip — where heroes past and present flicker by, from Javed Miandad to Babar Azam — has just the fleeting backside of arguably that country’s greatest cricketer. Imran Khan, the lion-hearted leader, the Oxford-educated heart-throb, the human form of his country’s cricketing soul, was ignored by the babus who run Pakistan cricket.
There is an obvious political reason behind his absence. He was deposed as Prime Minister in April and arrested earlier this month on corruption charges. The country’s election commission has barred him from electoral politics for five years; a de facto ban is placed on broadcasters mentioning his name or showing his image; his speeches and press conferences cannot be aired. The caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has automatically become the patron of the country’s cricket board, as is the practice in the country. However, celebrating Pakistan cricket without Khan is akin to a Wimbledon video without Roger Federer, or a samba collage without Pele. Whatever be the politics, Khan commands respect for his leadership role in 1992 World Cup, apart from his credentials as one of the finest all-rounders ever in the game.
The video without Khan makes for awkward viewing. A sporting hero is a sporting hero. He deserves to be judged on his laurels on the field rather than his record in politics. But electoral politics and cricket board politics in the Indian subcontinent are as interlinked, inseparable. If not for politics and politicians, both Indian and Pakistani teams would have crossed the border several times in the last decade. A beautiful rivalry between two wonderful cricketing cultures need not have to wait for once-in-four years ICC tournaments to dust up their forgotten ties and memories. Politics and cricket might be inseparable, but they should be inclusive and generous too.
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