For The Lion Impossible Was Nothing

The teenager would request his sisters to bowl at him in the family garden so that he could perfect his batting technique. The teenager used to run after the kites in Zaman Park, Lahore which helped him to garner stamina.

His cousin Majid Khan said he had to work a lot to reach the level of Wes Hall as his bowling action was imperfect - neither could he generate pace nor had control.

In 1972 - he witnessed the great Dennis Lillee at his pristine best and he started to imagine himself bowling like him - ultimately it was a tough task for the teenager who was becoming a laughing stock with his cricket abilities.

The teenager stuck to his dream and did everything to achieve the impossible - becoming a tearaway fast bowler and a handy batsman.

In 1974 - the teenager bagged his first Test wicket. A year later, he was called to join the team at Leeds for the crucial World Cup match against Australia.

The teenager was attending the final exams at Oxford. He finished the exams, took the train to Leeds and reached the team hotel at 4 am. He played the match and bagged two wickets.

In 1976 - in Sydney, the teenager was inspired by the sight of Lilllee and bowled one of the fastest spells ever bowled on Australian soil. He tore his shirt for extra effort and was advised by his skipper Mushtaq Mohammad to aim the eyes of the batsmen rather than the rib cage.

The teenager was transforming into a man - he was unplayable on a flat deck, grabbed 12 wickets and sunk Australia to level the series.

He flew to West Indies in 1977 where Sir Garry Sobers told him if this bloke was bowling faster than Lilllee then Lillee was bowling half of his abilities.

Sobers watched the youngster from Lahore terrorizing the West Indies batsmen with pace despite the hot and humid conditions.

Sobers was left praising the lad.

In 1977 - the lad rubbed shoulders with John Snow and Garth Le Roux who helped to change his bowling action and three years later, the wheel had completed its circle - Imran Khan was born.

From 1980-1992 - The mighty Khan took world cricket by storm with his pace and astonishing control, sublime batting and high-class captaincy.

The man changed the face of Pakistan Cricket, which the Pakistanis have wasted.

From the rubble, a Lion was born whose roar could be heard from every corner of world cricket.

Imran is my cricket idol.

He achieved these feats with his sheer mental strength.

For  Imran, impossible was nothing.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar