Former captain of Indian cricket team Sunil Gavaskar, on Saturday, 11 August, turned down the invitation to the swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan's Prime Minister-in-waiting Imran Khan to be held on 18 August in Islamabad.
Gavaskar attributed his unavailability to a Test match between England and India where he is due to be present, reported India Today.
Former Indian cricketers Navjot Singh Sidhu and Kapil Dev have also received the formal invite to the ceremony. Confirming Sidhu’s invitation, a Punjab government spokesperson told on 11 August:
The chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan, who is going to be sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, has sent invitation to former cricketer and Cabinet Minister, Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu to his swearing-in ceremony. Apart from this, Khan also extended personal invitation to Sidhu on the phone which was accepted in all humility by the latter.Government spokesperson
Sidhu told The Times of India said Khan had personally called him to invite him for the ceremony.
Singh told TOI, "Khan Saab even called me up inviting for the event on Friday. We chatted for a few minutes. I congratulated and conveyed my best wishes to him. This invite is in personal capacity and I have forwarded it to the union government for perusal."
The call was followed by a formal email by PTI chairman secretariat.
Both Sidhu and Dev were contemporaries of the cricketer-turned-politician and had played several matches against Khan's Pakistan cricket team.
(With IANS inputs)
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