Archive · 24 Aug 2026
Former Captains Renew Appeal for Imran Khan’s Medical Care
A group of former cricket captains has asked Pakistan’s prime minister to make sure Imran Khan gets proper medical care.
They say the country’s Supreme Court ordered Khan to be taken to a hospital.
The court also said doctors chosen by Khan and his sister should be part of the medical board.
The captains say Khan stayed in hospital for only a few hours.
They say a government-appointed team declared him fit and he was sent back to jail.
The group is especially worried about reports that Khan has lost much of the sight in one eye.
They want the court-ordered examination to be completed independently.
They also want Khan’s family to be allowed weekly visits and any recommended treatment to begin quickly.
Twenty-one former international cricket captains urged Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ensure Imran Khan receives proper medical care.
The captains said a Supreme Court directive required Khan to be examined by a board including his personal doctors and sister, Dr Uzma Khan.
They said Khan spent only a few hours in hospital, was assessed by a state-appointed team and returned to Adiala Jail before the court-directed board completed its work.
The letter called for an independent assessment, particularly of reports that Khan has lost significant vision in his right eye.
The captains also sought uninterrupted weekly family visits and immediate treatment based on the medical board’s recommendations.
- Who
- Twenty-one former international cricket captains, including Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Greg Chappell, Alastair Cook, Nasser Hussain and Steve Waugh, appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regarding Imran Khan.
- What
- They requested completion of a court-directed medical assessment, prompt treatment and uninterrupted weekly family visits for Khan.
- When
- The second letter was reported on Sunday; the articles also state that the Supreme Court issued its hospital directive on August 18 and that the appeal followed Khan’s brief hospital visit on Friday.
- Where
- The events concern Khan’s treatment at an Islamabad hospital and his detention at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail in Pakistan.
- Why
- The captains said Khan’s brief hospital stay and examination by a state-appointed team did not complete the process they understood the Supreme Court to have ordered, amid reports of serious vision loss in his right eye.
Former Captains and Khan’s Supporters
State-Appointed Medical Authorities
Whether the medical process was completed
Former Captains and Khan’s Supporters
The former captains said the Supreme Court-directed board, including Khan’s own doctors, should be allowed to complete a full and independent assessment.
State-Appointed Medical Authorities
A state-appointed medical team examined Khan, declared him medically fit and he was returned to Adiala Jail; the articles do not provide a detailed response from that team to the captains’ criticism.
Need for further medical assessment
Former Captains and Khan’s Supporters
The captains want particular attention paid to reports of serious vision loss in Khan’s right eye and want treatment based on the final assessment.
State-Appointed Medical Authorities
The state-appointed team’s reported conclusion that Khan was medically fit contrasts with the captains’ call for additional independent examination.
Family access
Former Captains and Khan’s Supporters
The former captains said weekly family visits ordered or reinstated by the Supreme Court should take place without interruption or administrative delays.
State-Appointed Medical Authorities
The articles do not state the Pakistani authorities’ position on the requested family visits.
- Appeal signatories
- Twenty-one former international cricket captains signed the letter, although a social-media post cited in one article referred to 22.
- Letter recipient
- Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
- Court directive
- Pakistan’s Supreme Court directed authorities to take Khan to hospital within 48 hours and have him examined by a medical board.
- Requested board
- The board was to include Khan’s personal doctors and his sister, Uzma Khan.
- Reported hospital stay
- The captains said Khan remained in hospital for only a few hours before returning to Adiala Jail.
- Medical concern
- The appeal highlighted reports of significant or near-total loss of vision in Khan’s right eye.
- Previous appeal
- Fourteen former captains wrote to authorities in February seeking humane treatment and proper medical care for Khan.
