A group of 22 former international cricket stars has appealed directly to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ensure jailed former leader Imran Khan receives the medical treatment ordered by the country’s Supreme Court.
The signatories include some of the sport’s most prominent former captains and players, among them India’s Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar, Sri Lanka’s Arjuna Ranatunga, West Indies greats Vivian Richards and Clive Lloyd, Australia’s Greg Chappell and Allan Border, and former England captain Alastair Cook.
Their intervention followed Khan’s brief transfer from prison to the government-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad late last week.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court had reportedly directed that Khan instead be taken to the private Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad and remain there until September 16. The court also ordered the establishment of a medical board to assess his condition, with his physician sister Uzma Khan included among its members.
However, shortly after midnight on Thursday, Khan was transported under heavy security from the Rawalpindi prison where he is being held to PIMS. After spending only several hours at the hospital, he was returned to jail early on Friday.
In their Sunday letter to Sharif, the former cricketers called for Khan to receive any treatment recommended under the court’s directions and to be permitted visits from family members.
They stressed that their appeal was not political, but arose from their relationship with Khan as former teammates, opponents and fellow international cricketers who had shared the field with him during his celebrated sporting career.
Notably, no former Pakistani cricketers were reported among the 22 signatories.
It is not the first time leading names from international cricket have intervened over Khan’s treatment in custody. In February, 14 former players, including Kapil Dev, Gavaskar and Chappell, wrote to Sharif calling for Khan to be treated more humanely.
The controversy surrounding his medical care has meanwhile prompted action from the Pakistani government. Sharif established an inquiry committee on Saturday to investigate why Khan was reportedly not given a heart diagnostic test that doctors at the government hospital had previously recommended.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has also renewed demands that he be transferred immediately to Shifa International Hospital in accordance with the Supreme Court’s direction.
Khan, who captained Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup before entering politics and eventually becoming prime minister, remains one of the country’s most internationally recognised sporting and political figures.
🚨21 international cricket captains have called for medical treatment for Imran Khan. Players worldwide are demanding treatment and respect for his human rights, while current and former Pakistani cricketers remain completely silent. #ContemptOfCourt pic.twitter.com/wj28xVKUYX
— Hina Zainab (@hina98_hina) August 23, 2026
