This should be of interest to anyone remotely interested in gossip.

A new biography of Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan pooh-poohs suggestions that he was romantically involved with slain former premier Benazir Bhutto.

"One of my cousins was interested in her (Bhutto) and she also took an interest when I introduced them to each other. At one point, marriage was virtually on the cards," Khan told Frank Huzur, his Indian biographer.

Khan, who now heads the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf party, described Bhutto as a "personal friend" and said there was "mutual admiration between them".

According to Khan, Bhutto had an affair with the "spotlight". "She trusted my instincts for counsel. Politics was not her calling, but she was able to make it her calling. She would have made a great ambassador for Pakistan," Khan is quoted as saying in an excerpt from Huzur's book "Imran Vs Imran".