India, Aug. 24 -- A day after 21 former international cricketers wrote to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asking for 'humane treatment' of Imran Khan, one of them, and Imran's contemporary from their playing days, Kapil Dev, reiterated his support for his 'friend'. Kapil and Imran were two of the four legendary all-rounders of the 1980s and 1990s, alongside New Zealand's Richard Hadlee and England's Ian Botham. Before relations between the two countries deteriorated, Indian and Pakistani cricketers used to engage in fun, banter and plenty of conversations and camaraderie off the field. The rapport between Kapil and Imran was one such bond, and it remains strong even decades later.

Surprisingly, though, the silence from Pakistan an...