Twenty-one former international cricket captains, including Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Greg Chappell, Allan Border and Clive Lloyd, have appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ensure a full medical assessment and any necessary treatment for incarcerated former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder chairman Imran Khan.

In a letter dated August 23, a copy of which is available with the media, the signatories stated that the appeal followed recent developments concerning Khan's medical examination and treatment. It referred to a Supreme Court direction for his transfer to a hospital for examination by a medical board that was to include his personal physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan, as well as the restoration of weekly family visits.

The former captains noted that Khan's hospital stay had lasted only a few hours and that he had been examined by a state-appointed medical team before being declared medically fit and returned to Adiala Jail. They observed that Khan's family and legal team believed this did not fulfil the court's directions, though they clarified they were not seeking to comment on or adjudicate Pakistan's domestic legal processes.

"We do ask, again, respectfully," the former captains wrote, seeking a full and independent assessment by the medical board referred to in the court order, including Khan's own doctors, particularly in view of the reported deterioration of vision in his right eye. They also urged that weekly family visits should take place without interruption or administrative delay, and requested that any recommended treatment be provided promptly.