Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan reminiscing his past cricketing career, commended fellow former cricketer and former skipper of Sri Lanka Arjuna Ranatunga.
A lunch was hosted in honour of visiting Prime Minister Imran Khan by Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Namal Rajapaksa in Colombo today (24).
The ceremony was arranged to pay tribute to the Prime Minister as a sportsman and was attended by dignitaries, including Sri Lankan Ministers, Parliamentarians and sportsmen.
The Prime Minister was presented a proposed project of a high-performance sports complex by the Sports Minister, which is to be named after the Prime Minister.
A documentary on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cricketing career was showcased which included tributes by his fellow Sri Lankan cricketers.
The Prime Minister appreciated the gesture and fondly recalled his experience as a sportsman and how it contributed to his development as the leader of a political party and the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
He said 14-years of defeat propelled him to stand alone, without majority or political support, to be elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Imran Khan, called out former cricketer and friend Arjuna Ranatunga, stating this was a special message to the latter.
He also fondly recalled his visit to Sri Lanka as a fresh university graduate and as a young player in the sports of cricket.
He commended the Sri Lankan players in attendance and especially Arjuna Ranatunga as the Sri Lankan National Team captain in the team’s World Cup win in Pakistan.
Imran Khan said in 1975 he witnessed Sri Lanka gradually building confidence and moving up the scale in the cricketing arena.
He called out former Sri Lanka skipper Arjuna Ranatunga and commended him for playing a major role in improving and building the Sri Lankan cricket team.
Minister of Youth and Sports Namal Rajapaksa presented a memento to the Prime Minister who in turn presented his signed cricket bat to him. (NewsWire)
