21 former captains including Gavaskar appeal for Imran Khan treatment

As many as 21 former international cricket captains from nine nations, including India's Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar, have written to Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif renewing their appeal for proper medical care for former Pakistan PM and cricketer Imran Khan. The Deccan Herald reports that the move was initiated by former Australia captain Greg Chappell and is the second such letter from former captains seeking humane treatment for the 73-year-old, who has been in jail for more than three years.

The Times of India reports that the letter follows developments this week that the signatories say fall short of a directive from Pakistan's Supreme Court. The Court had ordered that Khan be transferred to hospital for examination by a medical board including his own physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, and reinstated weekly family visits. According to the letter, Khan's hospital stay lasted only a few hours, he was examined by a state-appointed team, declared medically fit, and returned to Adiala Jail before the court-ordered board could complete its work. The letter makes three specific requests: that the medical board be permitted to complete an independent assessment, that weekly family visits continue, and that recommended treatment be provided without delay.

Among the signatories are Michael Atherton, Allan Border, Alastair Cook, Adam Gilchrist, Clive Lloyd, and Steve Waugh. The letter notes the signatories write not as politicians but as former colleagues and rivals. The first appeal in February by 14 former captains received no response from the Pakistan government.