Speaking about Imran to Narratives, Miandad said, “Someone explain this to me. Is he going to eat up Pakistan? We are all Pakistanis. We should sit together and resolve the issue. Whatever the problem is, that is what Pakistan needs now. The situation is being unnecessarily prolonged, and that is not right.”

Miandad, 69, rejected the notion that he had any feud or hostility with Imran during their playing days. “There was no hostility. We never had any quarrel,” he said.

Recalling the time he played county cricket in England with Imran, Miandad said, “We also played county cricket together. We spent six months together in England. Later, I also handed him the captaincy in the Pakistan team. We had a very good relationship and spent a wonderful period of cricket together.”

Miandad added, “He is also someone’s son. I often think—poor man, what kind of situation is he going through? We were very close. We played county cricket together, spent time together and understood each other very well. Together, we took Pakistan a long way forward.”

Miandad has been a strong critic in the past of Imran’s political leadership after retirement and his administration of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Their warm relationship from their playing days also became somewhat strained later. In yesterday’s interview, however, Miandad said his earlier comments had also come from the heart. At the same time, he urged people not to forget Imran’s contribution to Pakistan.