Imran Khan

He married English socialite Jemima Goldsmith in a traditional Islamic ceremony in Paris, in May 1995, who converted to Islam before marriage. The couple re-married in a civil ceremony in Richmond, after a month. They have two sons – Sulaiman Isa (1996) and Kasim (1999). The couple ended their nine-year old marriage in June 2004, citing difficulties in adapting to the Pakistani life, by Jemima, as the reason.

His decision to foray into full-fledged politics struck his marriage, resulting in attacks by his opponents on the pretext of being related to Zionists, since Jemima’s father was a Jewish.

In January 2015, he married British-Pakistani divorcee Reham Khan, a former BBC weather girl, in a secret ceremony at his residence in Islamabad, despite objections from his own family. The marriage was short-lived and the two of them divorced in October 2015

He made his test debut in the 1971 English series in Birmingham, but failed to make a mark due to his not-so-good performance.

In 1974, he debuted in One Day International (ODI) in the Prudential Trophy and was selected in the national team after returning to Pakistan.

His splendid performance against New Zealand and Australia during 1976-77 added to his rapid success, which made him a prominent fast bowler in Pakistan during the 1980s.

He was chosen as the captain of Pakistan cricket team in 1982. He performed stupendously as a fast bowler and all-rounder, leading his team to its first Test victory against England, at Lord’s, after 28 years.

Under his captaincy, Pakistan won 14 out of 48 test matches played, losing out on 8 and 26 resulting in a draw. In the ODI version, he played 139 matches, with 77 wins, 57 losses, and one tie.

He became the hero of Pakistan in 1992 when he accomplished his greatest success winning the first ODI Cricket World Cup for Pakistan, defeating England in the finals, at Melbourne, despite suffering from a ruptured shoulder cartilage.

This all-rounder’s triple in 75 tests, comprising of 3000 runs and 300 wickets, is said to be the second fastest record behind English player Ian Botham’s 72.

His world records as a captain include most wickets, best bowling strike rate and best bowling average in test, and best bowling figures (8 wickets for 60 runs).

He received ‘The Cricket Society Wetherall Award’ for being the leading all-rounder in English first-class cricket, in 1976 and 1980.

He was honored with the ‘Sussex Cricket Society Player of the Year’ award in 1985.

He was awarded the second highest civilian award, Hilal-e-Imtiaz, from the Government of Pakistan.

In 2004, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Asian Jewels Awards, London, towards his support for various charity programmes.

He was given the Humanitarian Award at the 2007 Asian Sports Awards, in Kuala Lumpur, for setting up the first cancer hospital in Pakistan.