New Delhi: Imran Khan has gone back to his favourite cricketing jibe, ‘raillu katta’, to target Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government. It literally means ‘a wandering calf’ in Punjabi. But in the context of cricket—and in this case politics—its connotations include a worthless or two-bit player.
In a 23-minute video address on Thursday, he accused the Sharif-led Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government of “conspiring” to end the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
“…These raillu kattas, who have no vote bank or anything else and are enjoying the fruits of power, their only attempt is to pit the army against the country’s biggest political party. That is their conspiracy,” he said. Khan also took a dig at former PM Nawaz Sharif when he referred to “that person in London” who does not care about what happens to Pakistan.
Return of the barb
Khan wields the “raillu katta” barb with precision. After all, he was the one to introduce it to the world in 2019 to describe players of the Pakistan cricket team ahead of a World Cup group match against India.
At the time, he was prime minister of Pakistan. Hours before the toss, in an unsolicited advice, he told then Pakistan cricket captain Sarfaraz Ahmed to go with specialist batters and bowlers. The reason, he said, was that “raillu kattas” rarely perform under pressure.
His use of the barb generated an instant buzz on both sides of the border. Many Indian media outlets ran explainers ‘Imran Khan calls Pak cricketers ‘raillu kattas’, what exactly is it?’ was one such report by The Tribune.
In the tweet, Khan had advised the captain to bat first.
“Unless pitch is damp, Sarfaraz must win the toss & bat,” he tweeted.
Sarfraz won the toss but chose to bat second. In frustration, former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar followed in Khan’s footsteps and called Sarfraz a ‘raillu katta.’
This cemented the use of the term in Pakistani cricket.
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Imran’s first recorded use of the term to lash out at a political adversary came in January 2020. It was when he was asked during a panel discussion about the cost incurred to the exchequer for his trips abroad. Khan responded by saying that his trip to the US to address the UN General Assembly cost taxpayers in Pakistan $160,000.
In contrast, he said, Asif Ali Zardari’s trip to the US cost the exchequer $1.4 million, while Nawaz Sharif made the pilgrimage to the ‘land of opportunities’ at a cost of $1.3 million dollars. He then added, “Even, you know, in Punjabi we call raillu katta, Khaqan Abbasi (former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi) did it for $800,000.”