The inside story behind a bold letter written by 14 former captains of international cricket teams in support of Imran Khan has emerged, with a former Indian coach revealing that he initiated the process. Indian cricket legends Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev were among the legends of cricket who signed a letter addressed to the Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over the 1992 World Cup-winner's condition.
For those unversed, Imran has been in jail for nearly three years. The cricket-turned politician had become the country's Prime Minister and occupied the top post for nearly three years before he was voted out through a no-confidence motion. He has been convicted in multiple cases since then.
Reports in recent days have stated that Imran has lost 85% of his vision in his eye. The letter from the cricket fraternity came on the back of that and called for Imran to be given proper medical care as well as for him to be treated in a 'dignified' manner in detention.
Australian cricket legend Greg Chappell, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest batters to ever play the game, was the initiator of the process and drafted the letter. The 77-year-old,, who served as the Indian cricket team's head coach from 2005 to 2007 revealed he shared a close friendship with Imran from his playing days, and his situation had troubled him. He also revealed that while the process was tough for Sunil and Kapil, they agreed to sign the letter immediately.
And so, you know, I've been following and keeping in contact with him as much as possible, but since he's been in jail, it's been impossible. I'm in touch with one of his very best friends on a regular basis, and not even his family have been able to see him while he's in jail. So, this has been sort of troubling me for a while, but I thought, well... What difference does one voice make? And it was in conversation with my friend [name not clear], and he said, Well, why don't you talk to other captains, and see if you can get a group of captains that make a statement that that might carry a bit more weight," said Greg in an interaction on the Cricket Et Al Podcast with Australian journalists Gideon Haigh and Peter Lalor.
“Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev probably had more pressure than the rest of us, but they both reacted instantly. You've probably seen Sunny's comments… They've been friends for a long time,” the former Indian cricket team head coach added.
The most striking part about the letter was that Sunil and Kapil agreed to be part of the initiative despite the political tensions between India and Pakistan. The 1983 World Cup-winners revealed why they agreed to it.
"It's an initiative from Greg Chappell. He drafted the letter, sent it to us and few of us spoke and decided to sign it. I discussed it with Kapil and we felt we should be supporting the move," said Sunil to mid-day.
"Let law take its own way, but Imran should get the best of treatment. We played together, so we have to be with him, no politics here. It's an open letter, just to bring it to the notice of the janta [public]. Open letters need not be addressed to any individual," Kapil added in an interaction with the same paper.
Also Read:Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev Unite For A Pakistani Legend While Pakistan Looks Away: Cricket's Rarest of Rare Letter
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
