‘He must be respected’: Ganguly, Azhar join Indian captains in appeal for Imran Khan's fair treatment

Sourav Ganguly has joined Indian cricket icons and former captains Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev in appealing for Pakistan great Imran Khan’s fair treatment inside the jail. Khan, who led Pakistan to its maiden and only 50-over World Cup win in 1992, has been in prison for over 800 days; however, several reports have claimed that he has lost 85% of his vision in his right eye and needs immediate medical care before it worsens. On Tuesday (Feb 17), 14 legendary cricket captains from five countries appealed to the Pakistani government to provide the best medical care to Imran Khan, with Ganguly being the latest to voice for it.

Although Ganguly hasn’t played against Imran Khan, he admires him like all cricket dignitaries as one of cricket’s most influential figures, while hoping for his recovery. Speaking of the former Pakistan captain, Ganguly acknowledged all that Imran has done, including putting Pakistan on the world map by captaining his team to glory, and later becoming the country's Prime Minister.

"I hope his health recovers, and I hope he gets the right treatment. He has taken Pakistan to the world map, being the captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team and then the Prime Minister of Pakistan. I am sure he must be looked after and respected,” Ganguly said of Imran Khan’s health crisis.

Cricket legends come forward to appeal for Imran

After several Pakistani cricket legends, including Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and others, raised concerns over Imran Khan’s vision loss reports while sending best wishes through social media posts, 14 former cricket captains, including Australia’s Allan Border and Ian Chappell, Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain from England and two from India – Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, among others, wrote to the Pakistani government, appealing for Imran’s fair treatment inside the jail.

"Recent reports concerning his health - particularly the alarming deterioration of his vision while in custody - and the conditions of his imprisonment over the past two and a half years have caused us profound concern," the letter read. "Imran Khan's contributions to the game are universally admired. As captain, he led Pakistan to their historic 1992 Cricket World Cup victory - a triumph built on skill, resilience, leadership, and sportsmanship that inspired generations across borders.

"Many of us competed against him, shared the field with him, or grew up idolising his all-round brilliance, charisma, and competitive spirit. He remains one of the finest all-rounders and captains the sport has ever seen, earning respect from players, fans, and administrators alike,” it further read.

Meanwhile, besides Ganguly, another former Indian captain, Mohammad Azharuddin, also took to his social media handle to express concern over reports on Imran Khan’s vision loss.

“Deeply saddened to hear about Imran bhai. Cricket has given us many shared moments, and as a fellow sportsman who has shared the platform and learned from him, I sincerely appeal that he be treated with dignity. Praying for his good health and strength for his family. @ImranKhanPTI #ImranKhanHealthEmergency,” his X post read.