By Murray Hunter
A GROUP of 21 former international cricket captains has written to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, renewing their appeal for proper medical treatment and humane conditions for imprisoned former prime minister and cricket icon Imran Khan.
The letter, dated around 23–24 August 2026, follows Khan’s brief hospital visit earlier that week.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court had ordered his transfer to the private Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for examination by a medical board that included his personal physicians and sister, Dr Uzma Khan, along with reinstated weekly family visits.
Instead, authorities took the 73-year-old to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) under heavy security.
After a few hours, doctors declared him medically fit and returned him to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi early on 21 August.
The former captains expressed concern that the process fell short of the court’s directive.
“Concerningly, Mr Khan’s hospital stay lasted only a few hours. He was examined by a state-appointed team rather than the board the Court had directed, declared ‘medically fit,’ and returned to Adiala Jail before that board could complete its work,” the letter stated.
Signatories include India’s Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar; Australia’s Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Allan Border, Adam Gilchrist, Steve Waugh and others; England’s Michael Atherton, Alastair Cook, Nasser Hussain, David Gower and more; West Indies’ Clive Lloyd; Sri Lanka’s Arjuna Ranatunga; and captains from New Zealand and elsewhere.
Notably, no current or former Pakistani players joined the appeal.
The group emphasised they wrote, “not as politicians, but as former colleagues and rivals who share a bond forged on the cricket field.”
They made three specific requests: that the Supreme Court-directed medical board, including Khan’s own doctors, complete a full independent assessment, particularly regarding reported vision loss in his right eye; that weekly family visits be honoured without interruption; and that any recommended treatment be provided without delay.
This marks the second such appeal in 2026.
In February, 14 former captains had written seeking more humane treatment amid reports of Khan’s deteriorating eyesight and isolation after more than three years in custody since August 2023. Khan, who led Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup, faces multiple corruption-related convictions that he and his PTI party describe as politically motivated; authorities reject the claim.
Human rights remain a significant issue in Pakistan, with organisations such as Amnesty International repeatedly highlighting concerns over political detentions, fair-trial standards, solitary confinement, and access to medical care in cases including Khan’s.
Yet the United States has shown a degree of acceptance of these problems, prioritising strategic and security cooperation with Islamabad over sustained public pressure on domestic human-rights matters.
The cricket legends’ intervention underscores the enduring international stature of Imran Khan as a sporting figure. Whether the Pakistani government will act on their call for the court-ordered process to be fully implemented remains to be seen. – August 26, 2026
