21 former cricket captains urge Pakistan PM to ensure Imran Khan’s medical care

Twenty-one former international cricket captains have called on Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ensure that jailed former prime minister Imran Khan receives proper medical treatment and basic facilities while in custody.

The former captains sent a letter to Sharif, urging Pakistani authorities to follow a Supreme Court order that requires Khan to be examined by a medical board and allows him to meet his family once a week.

The appeal is the second such letter from former cricket captains in the past six months. 

It comes amid concerns over Khan’s health and his access to family members while he remains in Adiala prison.

Khan was recently taken to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for a medical examination but was returned to prison after spending only a few hours there. 

The examination was carried out by a government-appointed medical team.

Former England captain Michael Atherton said the latest appeal was driven by humanitarian concerns, but also by fears that the former cricketer was being pushed out of public life.
“Yesterday, 21 former captains sent another letter, which was a humanitarian appeal to ensure that Imran Khan receives the medical care he needs,”

Atherton said on a Sky Sports Cricket podcast.
India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev, who signed the letter, said the request was simply for Khan to receive the basic rights and medical care available to any prisoner.

“We want him to get the best medical treatment. We are not asking for anything else,” Kapil said.

Among the other signatories are former captains Sunil Gavaskar, Allan Border, Clive Lloyd, Steve Waugh, Alastair Cook, Graeme Smith, Kumar Sangakkara and Nasser Hussain. Former women’s cricket captains Belinda Clark and Alex Blackwell also signed the appeal.

Imran Khan, who served as Pakistan’s prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has been in prison since 2023 following convictions in several cases.