Lahore:The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) omitted former prime minister Imran Khan from a video it released on Independence Day to pay homage to the country's cricket legends and milestones despite the fact that the cricketer-turned-politician led the World Cup-winning team in 1992.
The move drew sharp criticism from fans who were stunned at how the country's cricket board could ignore star performer Khan, who lifted the World Cup trophy in 1992 the only one Pakistan has in one-day cricket. Pakistan celebrated its 77th Independence Day on Monday. Khan, who founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party after his retirement from international cricket, has been lodged in the Attock Jail in Punjab province since August 5 after he was convicted in a corruption case and sentenced to three years.
The Election Commission of Pakistan later disqualified the 70-year-old leader and barred him from politics for five years. The PTI, however, complained that Khan is being kept in appalling conditions in the jail. Khan was the captain in 1992 when the Pakistani cricket team lifted the world cup but he was completely missing from the entire two-minute and 20-second video released on August 14 to mark Pakistan's Independence Day.
Khan, who has a massive following across Pakistan, is one of the most celebrated cricketers in the cash-strapped country as well as across the globe. "#ShameOnPCB" was one of the top trends on Twitter on Monday evening in Pakistan. "To PCB's current decision makers -- even when you weren't born, Khan was earning pride for the country. What you did was quite shameful. Legend Imran Khan is ruling hearts even after your low attempt but you will be ridiculed always for this," Jibran Ilays said on X, formerly known as Twitter.