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| Iain Botham also came to Pakistan for commentary on England's tour of Pakistan in 2005 (File Photo: circinfo) |
It was the summer of 1996. It was the month of July and the eyes of the media around the world were on a court in London where the leading cricketers of their time were fighting an interesting legal battle.
The story goes that in the year 1994, the former captain of the Pakistan team, Imran Khan, the prominent Indian cricketer.
In an interview with the journal Indian Today in its London bureau, Imran Khan accused former England cricket team captain Iain Botham and his teammate Alan Lamb of being racist and called them an 'under-educated, Racist and inferior social status'.
In his interview, he also accused Iain Botham of being a fraud.
At the same time, Imran Khan wrote in his autobiography that Iain Botham reverse-swinged by removing the cork from a bottle cap during a county match.
Recalling this historic case, senior sports journalist in Pakistan Abdul Majid Bhatti says that former captain of England cricket team Iain Botham was at the peak of his fame in Britain during those days and his feelings against Pakistan were not hidden from anyone.
After retiring from cricket, Botham started philanthropic work, which made him a respected figure in the UK.
However, he was still reeling from the defeat by Pakistan in the 1992 World Cup and was always in the headlines for his sharp statements.
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| During this case, Imran Khan continued to appear in court along with his wife Jemima Khan (File Photo: AP). |
According to Majid Bhatti, "The British media did not support the former Pakistan captain and there were always accusations of ball tampering against Pakistani players."
In addition to Imran Khan, Iain Botham, India's Kapil Dev and Richard Headley were included.
The Pakistani bowlers were also surprised by the reverse swing of the new ball and kept making accusations of ball tampering.
After a visit to Pakistan, Iain Botham commented about Pakistan that "Pakistan is a place where you can send your mother-in-law for two weeks at all expenses."
But when Iain Botham in the Indian Journal in 1994 And when Imran Khan's allegations about Alan Lamb came out, Iain Botham could not bear it and filed a case against Imran Khan in the UK court.
Imran Khan denied the interview in court and termed it out of context. He also produced former players as witnesses on ball tampering and claimed to bring some videos.
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| Commenting on the case, Alan Lamb said in an interview that "I am bankrupt after this decision." (File Photo: Addis) |
Referring to the case in his autobiography, Imran Khan wrote that "his lawyers were not very optimistic about the court proceedings".
The proceedings of this case continued for two and a half weeks and during this time Imran Khan was appearing in the court along with his wife Jemima Khan.
During this court proceedings, his close friend late Naeem ul Haq was also present in the court with him.
Ultimately, the court ruled in Imran Khan's favor and imposed a fine of 500,000 pounds on Iain Botham and Alan Lamb.
The court's 12-member jury gave the verdict by a ratio of 10 to 2. The British media and English players were quite unhappy and surprised by this decision because Iain Botham was sure that the decision of the case would be in his favor, but he lost the claim for the most expensive damages in the history of cricket.
Commenting on the case, Alan Lamb said in an interview that "I am bankrupt after this decision."
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| 'Iain Botham would always accuse Imran Khan of playing with his hair' (File photo: cricinfo) |
Majid Bhatti attributes the success in this interesting historic court battle to Imran Khan's traditional aggressiveness.
"Imran Khan has studied and played county cricket in the UK, so he understood the mood there and he adopted the same aggressive style in the court that he used to show on the field."
It came as a surprise not only to the parties to the case, but to anyone who had some knowledge of it, while acquitting former captain Imran Khan of a defamation case and fined English cricketers Iain Botham and Alan Lamb 500,000 pounds. kept.
According to senior analyst and cricket commentator Mirza Iqbal Baig, 'Imran Khan, Iain Botham and Alan Lamb became traditional rivals from county cricket.
And this antagonism came to a head when England lost to Pakistan in the 1992 World Cup.
He said, "Iain Botham always disputed Imran Khan's reverse swing and accused him of tampering with the ball."
Mirza Iqbal Baig says that Botham also came to Pakistan for commentary on the occasion of England's visit to Pakistan in 2005.
Meanwhile, he had also expressed his desire to meet Imran Khan and kept mentioning Imran Khan.
"Whether or not he met Imran Khan at that time is not confirmed, but the two players, who were considered traditional rivals on the field of play, later became friends."
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