Twenty-two former international cricket captains have renewed a public plea to Pakistan’s government, urging that former prime minister Imran Khan be granted the independent medical examination ordered by the country’s highest court. The letter, addressed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, questions the conduct of a recent hospital assessment and says the procedure failed to meet judicially mandated safeguards.
Former players question procedure and timing
The group — which includes well-known figures such as Sir Alastair Cook, Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, David Gower, Sunil Gavaskar and Australia’s Greg and Ian Chappell — said the most recent check on Mr Khan was brief and performed by clinicians appointed by the state.
"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 captains added that Mr Khan, who is 73, was declared "100% medically fit" following that evaluation and returned to Adiala prison in Rawalpindi within hours. They said the constitution of the examining team and the limited duration of his hospital stay were at odds with the court’s instruction for a broader medical board.
Lawyers allege non-compliance with court order
Mr Khan’s legal team has accused the government of ignoring a judicial directive that specified the private Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad and a medical board including the former prime minister’s personal physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan. The captains’ letter reiterated those concerns and asked the prime minister to ensure that the court’s conditions were respected.
The signatories framed their appeal not as a political intervention but as a plea from former colleagues on the cricket field. In their words they wrote to Mr Sharif "not as politicians, but as former colleagues and rivals… who share a bond forged on the cricket field." The correspondence marks the second such letter from the group in about six months, signalling sustained international attention.
High-profile figure in custody and lingering political tensions
Imran Khan, who led Pakistan to the 1992 Cricket World Cup title and later served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, remains a polarising figure. His detention and the handling of his medical needs have fuelled domestic debate about the independence of institutions and the rights of those in custody.
The episode raises several questions for observers of Pakistan’s justice and political systems: whether court orders are being implemented in full, how medical independence is safeguarded for high-profile detainees, and how sustained international attention might shape domestic responses.
- 22 former captains signed the letter, including prominent names from England, India and Australia.
- Mr Khan was examined in a government hospital and declared "100% medically fit" before being returned to Adiala prison.
- The Supreme Court had ordered an examination involving a medical board that would include Mr Khan’s own physicians and his sister.
| Detail | Reported fact |
|---|---|
| Number of signatories | 22 |
| Places mentioned | Adiala prison, Rawalpindi; Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad |
| Imran Khan’s age | 73 |
Officials representing the state-appointed medical team and the government have not published a detailed rebuttal of the captains’ claims in the material reviewed by this newsroom. Doctors who conducted the hospital check reportedly declared Mr Khan medically fit; his lawyers have called that assessment incomplete and procedurally flawed.
The letter from former players is important less for its immediate legal force than for how it magnifies international scrutiny of events unfolding in Pakistan. It places pressure on political leaders to demonstrate transparency and to show that judicial directions are being observed — particularly where a high-profile defendant’s wellbeing is in question.
How Islamabad responds could influence public confidence in the rule of law and may affect perceptions among Pakistan’s international partners. For now, the dispute centres on competing accounts of what the court ordered, who should be involved in an examination, and whether that mandate was honoured.
Until independent verification is published or the court issues a further order, significant uncertainty will remain about the exact circumstances of Mr Khan’s hospital visit and the completeness of the medical review.
