'Humane treatment and proper medical care': Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev among 21 former captains to appeal Pak PM for Imran Khan

A group of 21 former international cricket captains, including India legends Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, has renewed its appeal to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, calling on his government to ensure “humane treatment and proper medical care” for former Pakistan captain and prime minister Imran Khan. The latest appeal, issued on August 23, comes amid growing concerns about Khan’s health and follows recent developments involving a court-directed medical examination. The 73-year-old former Pakistan captain has been in custody for more than three years.

The latest letter comes six months after an initial appeal signed by 14 former international captains. Seven additional former captains have now joined the group. In their latest communication to Sharif, the former cricketers stressed that their intervention was motivated by their shared history with Khan on the cricket field and was not intended to interfere in Pakistan’s political affairs. "Dear Prime Minister, six months ago, fourteen former international cricket captains wrote to you and the Pakistani government appealing for humane treatment and proper medical care for Imran Khan. We wrote then not as politicians, but as former colleagues and rivals who share a bond forged on the cricket field, one that transcends the borders and disputes that too often divide countries. We write again now, joined by seven further former captains, because of what has reportedly just occurred," they wrote.

The former captains pointed to a Pakistan Supreme Court order directing that Khan be moved to a hospital for examination by a medical board that would include his personal physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan. The court had also restored weekly family visits. "Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered that Imran Khan be transferred to a hospital for examination by a medical board that was to include his own personal physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan. The Court also reinstated weekly family visits. These were very welcome steps," the letter said.

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However, the signatories expressed concern over what they described as the subsequent handling of the medical examination. "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. His family and legal team say this falls short of what the court ordered," it added.

The former captains made three specific requests in their renewed appeal. First, they called for the medical board ordered by the Supreme Court to be allowed to carry out a full and independent assessment of Khan’s health, including concerns about reported loss of vision in his right eye. Second, they urged authorities to implement the weekly family visits restored by the court without interruptions or administrative delays. Third, they called for any medical treatment recommended following the assessment to be provided without delay.

The group reiterated that it was not attempting to take a position on Pakistan’s domestic political or legal disputes. "We're not asking Pakistan for anything unusual, just that a court order most countries would take for granted is actually carried out. We do not presume to adjudicate Pakistan's domestic legal processes. That is not our place, and it was not the spirit in which we wrote in February," they wrote.

The former captains then formally restated their demands: "But we do ask, again, respectfully: 1. That the medical board directed by the Supreme Court, including Mr Khan's own doctors, be permitted to complete a full and independent assessment of his health, particularly the reported loss of vision in his right eye. 2. That the weekly family visits reinstated by the Court be honoured without interruption or administrative delay," the letter stated.

They followed this with their third request for Khan to receive any treatment deemed necessary after the medical assessment.

"3. That whatever the outcome of that medical assessment, the treatment recommended by it be provided without delay. Imran Khan is 73 years old and has now spent more than three years in custody," they wrote.

The former cricketers said that regardless of the legal and political issues surrounding Khan’s case, completing a court-ordered medical process should be viewed as a basic matter of fairness and dignity. "Whatever the legal and political arguments surrounding his case, the basic decency of ensuring a court-ordered medical process is actually completed is not, in our view, a controversial request. It is one we believe every nation that plays this game would recognise as fair."

The letter ended with a call for a swift resolution and respectful treatment of the former Pakistan captain. "We hope this matter can be resolved expeditiously and with the dignity Mr Imran Khan deserves. Yours in cricket," the former captains added.

Who signed the appeal?

The signatories include prominent former captains from England, Australia, India, the West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

England is represented by Michael Atherton, Michael Brearley, Sir Alastair Cook, David Gower, Nasser Hussain and Sir Andrew Strauss. Australia’s signatories include Allan Border, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Kim Hughes and Stephen Waugh. India is represented by Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar. The other prominent names include former West Indies captain Sir Clive Lloyd, former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga and former New Zealand captain John Wright.