Story of friendship between Gavaskar and Imran Khan (Photo-PTI)
14 veterans have together written an email to the Government of Pakistan in support of former Pakistan captain and former PM Imran Khan. One name among these giants is Sunil Gavaskar. Let us tell you that the friendship between Sunil Gavaskar and Imran Khan is very old. On the request of Imran Khan, Sunil Gavaskar has even postponed his retirement. This story is from 42 years ago when Sunil Gavaskar wanted to take retirement but he postponed this decision while having lunch with Imran Khan. Let us tell you what is that story?
Gavaskar’s retirement was canceled
Sunil Gavaskar had decided to take retirement during the England tour in 1986, but after talking to the then Pakistan captain Imran Khan, he reversed this decision. On the England tour in 1986, Gavaskar realized that his career was coming to an end. He was about to announce retirement after the England series. Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar and Imran Khan met for lunch in England. During lunch, Gavaskar told Imran Khan that he would take retirement after the England series. But Imran Khan stopped him
Imran Khan said that Pakistan will tour India next year i.e. in 1986-87 and they are dreaming of defeating India but if Gavaskar is not in the team then that victory will not give that much satisfaction. Gavaskar accepted this challenge of Imran and he postponed his retirement. Gavaskar played the home series against Pakistan in 1986-87. Gavaskar performed brilliantly in that series, and he became the first player to score 10,000 runs in Tests.
Gavaskar had told the truth
Gavaskar had told this in an interview. In an interview given to Times of India in 2018, he had said, ‘I wanted to retire, but Imran Khan gave me a challenge. He said, you cannot retire now. Pakistan is coming to India next year and I want to defeat India in India. If you are not part of the team, this victory will not be the same. If the tour had not been announced before the final Test, I would have announced retirement, but Imran’s words made me think. Today Sunil Gavaskar is demanding concession from the Pakistani government for his friend.
A total of 14 former captains including Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev have made three big demands for Imran. The first demand is that Imran Khan should be given good treatment immediately. They should be given specialist doctors of their choice. The second demand is that Imran Khan should be given humane and dignified imprisonment as per international standards. They should be allowed to meet family members and friends. The third demand is that Imran Khan should be given a chance to fight the legal battle fairly and transparently.
