Pakistan cricket triggers controversy concerning former Premier Imran Khan

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan's legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram joined growing criticism Wednesday for leaving out jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a video by the country's cricket governing body for Independence Day.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released a video to pay tribute to cricket legends but made no mention of Khan -- the only captain who won the 50-over Cricket World Cup for the South Asian nation in 1992. The deletion has triggered a barrage of criticism from sports lovers.

Akram, a former captain, who was part of the 1992 team, urged the PCB to “apologize” and delete the video that was released on the occasion of the country's 76th Independence Day on Monday.

The video was widely criticized on social media, where cricket lovers lamented the action by the PCB.

Akram, arguably the greatest among an entire generation of cricketers, said he received the “shock of his life” after watching the video “minus the great Imran Khan.”

“Political differences apart but Imran Khan is an icon of world cricket and developed Pakistan into a strong unit in his time and gave us a pathway,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

​​​​​​​Following his retirement from cricket in 1992, Khan joined politics and formed his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. He became the prime minister after his party won the 2018 elections.

He became the only prime minister in the country's checkered history to have been ousted in a no-trust vote in April 2022.

He is serving a three-year jail term following his conviction in a graft case earlier this month.