Kolkata, Mar 29: India's World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev wants Sunil Gavaskar to continue writing his columns and feels the BCCI should have backed the legendary opener in his recent stand-off with the ICC.

"I don't know how Gavaskar is bound by ICC contracts. But I feel if he stops writing or commentating, he will be depriving millions of his admirers his comments on television and columns they look forward to," Kapil said on the sidelines of a function here.

"So, I urge Sunil to keep on writing," he said. Expressing disgust at the hue and cry raised by Gavaskar's columns, the former all-rounder said, "What wrong has Gavaskar committed? He has been writing columns for quite a long time".

"The BCCI should have backed him considering his contribution to Indian cricket. But the Board never stands by the players once they retire," Kapil regretted.

After the ICC Board last week expressed a "conflict of interests" in Gavaskar holding the post of ICC Cricket Committee Chairman and working as a journalist, he met Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed in Dubai on Wednesday.

During India's recent Australia tour, Gavaskar had scathingly criticised the hosts' on-field behaviour and the handling of Sydney racism row by match referee Mike Procter.

In his recent column, he referred to some ICC members such as England and Australia as "dinosaurs" who cannot stomach India's growing clout in the game.