In a rare show of unity, some of the biggest names in world cricket have come together to speak up for their former rival Imran Khan.
A total of 21 former international captains, including Indian legends Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar, have written a joint letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. They have asked for proper medical care and better welfare for the jailed former Prime Minister and World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan who is 73 years old.
The effort was led by former Australia captain Greg Chappell and this is the second time such a group has made an appeal for humane treatment and proper medical care for him. The letter was made public on social media.
In their appeal, the former captains urged the Pakistan government to allow the medical board that was ordered by the Supreme Court to complete its full health assessment of Imran Khan. They stressed that this board must include Imran Khan’s own personal doctors and pointed to worrying reports about him losing vision in his right eye.
They also asked the authorities to make sure that the weekly family visits, which were restarted on the orders of the Supreme Court, happen regularly without any interruption or delay from officials. They further said that any treatment suggested by the doctors after the check-up must be given to him without any delay.
The letter also made it clear that the captains were not trying to comment on or interfere with Pakistan’s internal legal matters and court cases. They said they only felt that making sure a medical process ordered by the court is completed is simply a matter of basic decency and humanity.
The other captains who signed the letter are Allan Border, Michael Atherton, Michael Brearley, Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell, Belinda Clark, Alastair Cook, Adam Gilchrist, David Gower, Kim Hughes, Nasser Hussain, Clive Lloyd, Arjuna Ranatunga, Andrew Strauss, Stephen Waugh and John Wright.
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