Imran Khan appears on the cusp of leading his country in government, 26 years after he led it on the cricket field.

The former Pakistan captain and all-rounder is well ahead in unofficial results from the country’s general election and forecast to pick up around twice the seats of his party’s closest rival.

While he may still not have enough for an outright majority without coalition partners, and with rival parties saying they reject the results, he appears on course to be prime minister of the 210 million-strong, nuclear-armed nation.

His rallying cry of a new Pakistan without the venality of former governments has caught the imagination of younger voters who see him as a clean candidate in…