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Cricket pundits may deny that this is a Basil D’Oliveira moment. The letter sent by 14 test cricket captains, two Indians included, cannot move mountains, can it? The letter sent yesterday only appeals to the Pakistan government to ensure that their peer, a towering great, one of the best captains the game has produced, Imran Khan Niazi, be dealt with humanely in prison.

It cannot be a moment of the magnitude that South African ‘coloured’ player Oliveira’s selection as part of the English team, to tour South Africa, exploded into. Or can it? Oliveira’s inclusion by England led to apartheid South Africa exposing itself and finally becoming an international pariah. The sporting isolation and boycotts slowly followed, helping firmly dismantle apartheid.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty.

So what is the big deal about Pakistan’s government being appealed to by Imran Khan’s fellow-cricketers like this?

It is the first time in years that Indian cricket stars may have done something spontaneous, with serious political consequences. Long tamed by stencilled tweets or hefty contracts that demand silence as the price, they “got back within minutes” to sign up to ask for Imran Khan to be treated properly, as Greg Chappell disclosed in a podcast today with Peter Lalor and Gideon........

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