How many cricket legends have been elected prime ministers of their countries?
Imran Khan, cricket star turned populist politician, turns 70 today, October 5. Glimpses from the former Pakistan prime minister's life:
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IMAGE: Imran with his parents Ikramullah Niazi and Shaukat Khanum and sisters when he was three years old. Photograph: Kind courtesy imrankhan.pti/Instagram
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IMAGE: Imran with his father and sister when he was probably two years old. Photograph: Kind courtesy imrankhan.pti/Instagram
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IMAGE: Imran, accompanied by his first wife Jemima Goldsmith, arrives at London's high court. Photograph: Reuters
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IMAGE: Imran with his second wife Reham Khan. This marriage lasted ten months.
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IMAGE: Imran married his third and current wife Bushra Bibi on February 18, 2018. Imran's party Tehreen-e-Insaaf wish their chairman on Twitter. Photograph: PTIKPOfficial/Twitter
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IMAGE: Imran performs the umrah with Bushra Bibi in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, May 9, 2021. Photograph: Kind courtesy imrankhan.pti/Instagram
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IMAGE: With sons Sulaiman Isa Khan and Kasim Khan. Their mother is the former Jemima Goldsmith. Photograph: Kind courtesy imrankhan.pti/Instagram
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IMAGE: Princess Diana with Imran, Jemima and patients at the Shaukat Khanum Trust Hospital in Lahore, which Imran built in his mother's memory. Photograph: Muzammil Pasha/Reuters
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IMAGE: Imran and Jemima with then South African president Nelson Mandela address journalists after travelling from Johannesburg to Cape Town aboard the Blue Train. Photograph: Reuters
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IMAGE: Imran gives a placard to elder son Sulaiman before a march to the United Nations offices in Islamabad to protest against the killing of Chechen Muslims and calling for a stop to Russian attacks in Grozny. Photograph: Muzammil Pasha/Reuters
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IMAGE: Imran surrounded by supporters on his arrival at Karachi airport to launch his political party, the Tehreek-e-Insaaf. Photograph: Reuters
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IMAGE: Imran addresses an election campaign rally in Narowal, May 1, 2013. Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
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IMAGE: Imran greets supporters at a rally in Shadi Khal, October 8, 2002. Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
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IMAGE: Imran waves a cricket bat, his party's election symbol, as he addresses an election rally in Faisalabad, May 5, 2013. Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
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IMAGE: Imran speaks at a rally in Chontra. Photograph: Reuters
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IMAGE: Imran waves to supporters in Islamabad, July 5, 2018. Photograph: Faisal Mahmood/Reuters
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IMAGE: Imran on becoming Pakistan's prime minister: 'We will change the system so that it runs on merit, and where everyone gets an opportunity to prosper.' Photograph: Kind courtesy imrankhan.pti/Instagram
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IMAGE: Imran inspects the J10C fighter aircraft on its induction into the Pakistan air force. Photograph: Kind courtesy imrankhan.pti/Instagram
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IMAGE: Britain's Prince William and Catherine, duchess of Cambridge, meet Imran in Islamabad, October 15, 2019.
William's mother Princess Diana was a friend of Imran's first wife Jemima Goldsmith. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/Pool/Reuters
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IMAGE: Then US president Donald J Trump greets Imran at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, January 21, 2020. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
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IMAGE: Imran with Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist party of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, November 2, 2018. Photograph: Thomas Peter/Pool/Reuters
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IMAGE: Imran addresses the United Nations General Assembly, September 27, 2019. Photograph: Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters
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IMAGE: Imran after being ousted as prime minister leads a protest march in Islamabad, May 26, 2022. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
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