Gower, Waugh and Gavaskar among cricket legends calling for Imran Khan to receive proper medical care

Former captains from five nations say ‘person of Imran Khan’s stature deserves to be treated with dignity’

More than a dozen former cricketing icons have petitioned Pakistan’s government to provide better medical treatment to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

Mr Khan, a legendary former cricketer, was jailed in August 2023, nearly a year after his government was felled through a parliamentary no-confidence vote he accused the country’s powerful military of orchestrating at the behest of the US.

Mr Khan, 73, was slapped with dozens of what he and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party denounced as politically motivated cases related to alleged corruption, sale of state gifts, and unlawful marriage.

Although several of his convictions have been suspended or overturned, he remains incarcerated pending trial in some cases and appeals in others.

Mr Khan’s family members and leaders of his party have accused authorities of damaging his health by denying him adequate medical care.

The government has rejected these accusations as unfounded.

“Recent reports concerning his health– particularly the alarming deterioration of his vision while in custody – and the conditions of his imprisonment over the past two and a half years have caused us profound concern,” the former cricketers stated in their petition and called for his “fair and humane treatment”.

The petition was drafted by Greg Chappell and co-signed by 13 former cricket captains from five nations, including fellow Australians Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, and Kim Hughes; Englishmen Mike Atherton, Mike Brearley, Nasser Hussian, and David Gower; Indians Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev of India; New Zealander John Wright; and West Indies legend Clive Lloyd.

Mr Chappell said he drafted the petition and requested support from his former colleagues around the world after reports from Rawalpindi’s Adiala prison said Mr Khan’s health was deteriorating.

Pakistan captain Imran Khan celebrates with teammates after winning the 1992 Cricket World Cup (Getty)

The petition noted that “a person of Imran Khan’s stature deserves to be treated with the dignity and basic human consideration befitting a former national leader and a global sporting icon”, and urged Pakistani authorities to provide him “immediate, adequate and ongoing medical attention from qualified specialists of his choosing to address his reported health issues”.

Last week, Mr Khan’s lawyer informed the Supreme Court that the jailed leader had suffered significant vision loss in his right eye while in custody. On Monday, Mr Khan’s sons, Kasim and Sulaiman, expressed uncertainty about a medical report claiming improvement in his vision after treatment.

They had spoken to their father last Thursday, Mr Khan’s children said, and learned he had been “denied treatment for his eye for a few months".

“The water he showers in is not just dirty, but discoloured,” Mr Kasim Khan said. “A dozen prisoners in that jail have died of hepatitis and all of them were supporters of his political party.”

The family also say they fear another attempt on Mr Khan’s life. The former leader survived being shot during a rally in November 2022 but was left with long-term health problems including nerve damage.

Mr Khan’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, said he began experiencing “persistent blurred and hazy vision” last October.

The former prime minister “appeared visibly perturbed and deeply distressed by the loss of vision and the absence of timely and specialised medical intervention”, Mr Safdar said in a filing that was made public last week.

Supporters of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party protest in Karachi over his custodial treatment (Reuters)

In view of these reports, the former captains appealed for “humane and dignified conditions of detention in line with international standards, including regular visits by close family members”.

“Cricket has long been a bridge between nations. Our shared history on the field reminds us that rivalry ends when the stumps are drawn – and respect endures. Imran Khan embodied that spirit throughout his career,” they said, calling on Pakistani authorities to “uphold the principles of decency and justice”.

Mr Gavaskar decried the treatment being meted out to his onetime cricketing rival. “It’s terrible what they are doing to him. We have been friends since he was trying to qualify as an overseas player for Worcestershire and not just rivals on the field,” Mr Gavaskar said, reported The Age.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf welcomed the plea and said it underlined the need for ensuring basic human rights for their leader.

“We deeply appreciate the moral clarity and courage shown by global cricketing icons who have chosen to rise above politics and speak in the spirit of sportsmanship, fairness, and universal human dignity,” party spokesperson Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari said. “Their collective voice underscores what millions of Pakistanis already believe: that even in the most polarized circumstances, basic human rights, medical care, and due process are non-negotiable."