Will surely go to Pakistan if I get the invite: Kapil Dev

New Delhi, Aug 2: Cricketer and former captain of the Indian Cricket team Kapil Dev expressed willingness to attend the oath-taking ceremony of PM-elect Imran Khan.

"I haven't checked yet about the invitation, but if I will get the invite then I will surely go there (Pakistan) for the oath ceremony( of Imran Khan), considering Government approval, " news agency ANI quoted Kapil Dev as saying.

However, Imran Khan has decided against inviting foreign leaders and celebrities to his oath-taking ceremony as Pakistan's new prime minister as he wants to keep the event very simple, according to a media report.

His party had initially planned to invite several foreign leaders and personalities, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan and Indian cricketers like Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Navjot Singh Sidhu to the event.

In an apparent change of heart on Thursday, Khan has opted against a fancy ceremony, Dawn newspaper reported.

Imran Khan will take oath as prime minister on August 11, even as his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party was striving to get the required numbers to form a government.

PM Narendra Modi on Monday telephoned Khan to congratulate him on his party's victory in the general elections and hoped that "Pakistan and India will work to open a new chapter in bilateral ties".