FACTBOX: Key facts on Pakistan's Imran Khan

(Reuters) - Detained Pakistani politician and former cricketer Imran Khan began a hunger strike on Monday to protest over President Pervez Musharraf's dismissal of judges after he imposed emergency rule, a spokesman said.

Here are some facts about the one-time national cricket captain, now 54:

* Imran Khan was born in Lahore on November 25, 1952, and was educated at Lahore's elite Aitchison College where he excelled at cricket. A fine batsman, he made his first-class debut for Lahore against Sarghodha at the age of 16.

* Imran was selected for the Pakistan national team in 1970, where he soon won a permanent place. He finished his high school education at the Royal Grammar School in Worcester, England, and went on to study Economics and Politics at Keble College, Oxford. He captained the Oxford University XI in 1974.

* As the 1970s rolled on, Imran developed into a world-class cricketing "all-rounder", and became captain of the Pakistani national side in 1981. Declared international cricketer of the year in 1989-90, he led Pakistan to victory in 1992 World Cup.

* After that triumph, he retired with a total of 3,807 runs and 362 wickets in test matches. He also played for the English counties of Sussex and Worcestershire.

* In 1996, Imran started a political party in Pakistan known as Tehrik-e-Insaaf (Movement for Justice). The party has Islamic overtones and was inspired partly by his renewed commitment to Islam.

* Around the same time, he opened the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust Cancer Hospital in memory of his mother who had died from the disease. Today it has won international recognition as one of the leading institutions for free cancer treatment in the world.

* He lost a first parliamentary election in 1997, before finally winning a seat in 2002. He resigned last month, along with other members, in protest at Pervez Musharraf's re-election as president while still army chief.

* Imran went into hiding soon after Musharraf declared a state of emergency on November 3. Police detained him on November 14 after he had emerged from hiding to lead a student protest.

* In 1995 he married Jemima Goldsmith, daughter of the late Anglo-French billionaire Sir James Goldsmith. She converted to Islam but the couple were divorced in 2004.

Sources: Reuters/www.bradford.ac.uk

(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; editing by Roger Crabb)