Reports: Kapil Dev declines the invitation to attend Imran Khan's swearing-in ceremony

Imran Khan and his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has won the general elections in the country and the former cricketer is set to take oath as the Prime Minister of the country on August 18. PTI had claimed about formally inviting the three Indian cricketers, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Navjyot Singh Sidhu, for the swearing-in ceremony of Khan. However, Kapil has now declined the invitation after his former teammate Gavaskar also did the same.

Gavaskar had earlier conveyed to his former counterpart that he would not be able to attend the ceremony due to his commentary commitments in the ongoing Test series between England and India. Sidhu though has accepted the invitation and is set to travel Pakistan it seems as he was seen visiting Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on Monday.

However, he had also cleared that he has applied for a permit from the Indian Government and travelling to the country depends on the permission from them.

Why did Kapil decline?

According to the reports in Times Now, Kapil Dev declined the invitation citing personal reasons despite the fact that he had earlier agreed to attend the swearing-in ceremony. “I have been invited, but not in writing. I got a call from his team, but I haven’t received any mail yet. I am waiting for a formal invite,” he was quoted as saying. “If I get a formal invite, I will go and attend the ceremony,” he had said.

Moreover, the World Cup winning captain had also called Khan over his party’s victory in the elections and was very happy to see that his efforts in the last 20 years had finally paid off. “I said well done young man. Imran has worked very hard for 20-odd years and he selflessly worked for his country and today he got the reward for that. I hope he can keep working in the same manner,” Dev had said.

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