MUMBAI: As many as 21 former international captains from nine cricketing nations, including India’s Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar, have written to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, renewing their appeal for the medical treatment and welfare of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister and 1992 World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan, following developments this week that they say fall short of a directive of the Supreme Court of the country.The letter — a follow-up to one sent in February by 14 former captains — was prompted by events surrounding a Supreme Court order that Khan be transferred to hospital for examination by a medical board including his own physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, alongside reinstated weekly family visits.The 73-year-old Imran is currently facing severe health issues after having been in jail for more than three years following his tenure as Pakistan PM.On Friday, Imran returned to Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail shortly after undergoing a medical examination at Shifa Hospital in Islamabad.In February this year, 14 legendary captains from five countries — including Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Greg Chappell, a former head coach of Team India — had made a fervent, emotional appeal to the Pakistan government about ensuring proper treatment for Imran, amid mounting concerns about the cricketing icon’s health. However, there was no response from the Pakistan government to the cricket legends’ request.In the latest letter (a copy is with TOI), addressed to the Pakistan PM and titled “Appeal by 21 Former International Cricket Captains on the Medical Treatment and Welfare of Imran Khan,” Chappell & Co. have written, “Dear Prime Minister, six months ago, fourteen former international cricket captains wrote to you and the Pakistani government appealing for humane treatment and proper medical care for Imran Khan. We wrote then not as politicians, but as former colleagues and rivals who share a bond forged on the cricket field — one that transcends the borders and disputes that too often divide countries.“We write again now — joined by seven further former captains — because of what has reportedly just occurred. Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered that Imran Khan be transferred to hospital for examination by a medical board that was to include his own personal physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan. The Court also reinstated weekly family visits. These were very welcome steps.Concerningly, Mr Khan’s hospital stay lasted only a few hours. He was examined by a state-appointed team rather than the board the Court had directed, declared “medically fit,” and returned to Adiala Jail before that board could complete its work. His family and legal team say this falls short of what the court ordered.The signatories, who describe themselves as writing “not as politicians, but as former colleagues and rivals who share a bond forged on the cricket field,” are careful to note they do not seek to adjudicate Pakistan’s domestic legal processes. Their letter makes three specific requests: that the Court-directed medical board be permitted to complete its independent assessment; that weekly family visits continue without interruption; and that any treatment the assessment recommends be provided without delay.“We’re not asking Pakistan for anything unusual — just that a court order most countries would take for granted is actually carried out,” said Greg Chappell, who took this initiative.“We do not presume to adjudicate Pakistan’s domestic legal processes. That is not our place, and it was not the spirit in which we wrote in February. But we do ask, again, respectfully: 1. That the medical board directed by the Supreme Court — including Mr Khan’s own doctors — be permitted to complete a full and independent assessment of his health, particularly the reported loss of vision in his right eye. 2. That the weekly family visits reinstated by the Court be honoured without interruption or administrative delay. 3. That whatever the outcome of that medical assessment, the treatment recommended by it be provided without delay. Imran Khan is 73 years old and has now spent more than three years in custody. Whatever the legal and political arguments surrounding his case, the basic decency of ensuring a court-ordered medical process is actually completed is not, in our view, a controversial request. It is one we believe every nation that plays this game would recognise as fair. We hope this matter can be resolved expeditiously and with the dignity Mr Imran Khan deserves. Yours in cricket,”Also among the signatories of the letter are Michael Atherton, Alex Blackwell, Allan Border, Michael Brearley, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Alastair Cook, Lee Germon, Adam Gilchrist, David Gower, Kim Hughes, Nasser Hussain, Clive Lloyd, Arjuna Ranatunga, Andrew Strauss, Steve Waugh and John Wright.
