21 Former International Cricket Captains Appeal to Pakistan PM for Full Court-Ordered Medical Care for Imran Khan

A group of 21 former international cricket captains from multiple nations has written to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, renewing their appeal for the full implementation of a Supreme Court order on the medical treatment and welfare of jailed former prime minister and 1992 World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan.

The letter, dated August 23, 2026, follows an earlier appeal by 14 captains in February. Seven additional former skippers have now joined. Signatories include India’s Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar, Australia’s Allan Border, Adam Gilchrist, Greg Chappell and Ian Chappell, England’s Michael Atherton, Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss and others such as Clive Lloyd, Arjuna Ranatunga, David Gower and Belinda Clark.

Full list of the 21 former international cricket captains who signed the August 23, 2026 letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appealing for Imran Khan’s medical treatment and welfare:

1. Michael Atherton (England)
2. Alex Blackwell (Australia)
3. Allan Border (Australia)
4. Michael Brearley (England)
5. Greg Chappell (Australia)
6. Ian Chappell (Australia)
7. Belinda Clark (Australia)
8. Sir Alastair Cook (England)
9. Sunil Gavaskar (India)
10. Lee Germon (New Zealand)
11. Adam Gilchrist (Australia)
12. David Gower (England)
13. Kim Hughes (Australia)
14. Nasser Hussain (England)
15. Sir Clive Lloyd (West Indies)
16. Kapil Dev (India)
17. Arjuna Ranatunga (Sri Lanka)
18. Sir Andrew Strauss (England)
19. Dilip Vengsarkar (India)
20. Steve Waugh (Australia)
21. John Wright (New Zealand)

This expands on the earlier February 2026 letter signed by 14 of them.

The captains emphasised they are intervening as former colleagues and rivals bound by cricket, not as politicians. They noted that Pakistan’s Supreme Court had ordered Khan’s transfer to hospital for examination by a medical board that was to include his own personal physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, along with the reinstatement of weekly family visits.

Their three specific requests are: that the court-directed medical board, including Khan’s own doctors, be allowed to complete a full and independent assessment of his health particularly reported loss of vision in his right eye; that weekly family visits continue without interruption or administrative delay; and that any treatment recommended by the assessment be provided without delay.

The appeal comes amid controversy over the handling of the Supreme Court directive. On the night of August 20-21, Khan was taken from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Authorities said he underwent examination by a team of doctors including an ophthalmologist, cardiologist and physician and was declared “medically fit” before being returned to jail early on August 21. The government stated he was taken to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) rather than the private Shifa International Hospital specified in the court order, citing security concerns.

Khan’s family, personal physician and party have disputed aspects of the process. Reports indicated that his personal doctor waited for hours at Shifa without seeing him, and that neither family members nor his chosen physicians fully participated in or observed the examination as directed. Khan was returned to Adiala Jail the same night after the brief hospital visit.

The former captains said the reported events fall short of the Supreme Court’s directive and called for the order to be carried out in full and with dignity. No immediate response from the Pakistani government to the latest letter has been reported.