Pakistan PM Imran Khan will bring peace to India, Pak, feels Kapil Dev

He might have skipped the invitation from Pakistan to attend the swearing-in ceremony of former cricketer Imran Khan as its prime minister, but legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev did not lose the opportunity to wish Khan the best. The former Indian captain recently said that he wished his one-time rival on the ground would succeed in giving peace a chance in disturbed India-Pakistan relations.

Khan took oath as Pakistan’s 22nd prime minister on August 18 after his party – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf did well in the July 25 elections. On the occasion, three former Indian cricketers – Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Navjot Singh Sidhu – were invited and while the first two declined to go citing prior engagements, Sidhu went to Pakistan to greet Khan.
The 59-year-old former all-rounder, who led India to their first World Cup title in 1983 just like Khan did in 1992, told Khaleej Times: “Imran Khan, well done. I hope that he will be able to bring peace to India and Pakistan.”

Running a country needs dedication and hard work

“I think the big question is if Imran as PM can give everybody in his country three meals a day. Can he give the youth of Pakistan jobs? People like me who have played cricket with him would like to see him perform as the PM,” Dev said, adding that running a country is no easy task and takes a lot of discipline, dedication and hard work.

Kapil said he spoke to Imran only once since he became the prime minister of Pakistan and expressed a pleasant surprise over the latter’s rise to the helm. Khan is the first sportsperson in South Asia to go on to become the premier of his country.

During their playing days, both Dev and Khan were considered among some of the world’s best all-rounders. While Dev played 131 Tests and 225 ODIs over 16 years and scored 9,031 international runs and took 687 wickets, 65-year-old Khan played 88 Tests and 175 ODIs to score 7,516 international runs and take 544 wickets.

For all the latest cricket news and other updates follow CricTracker.