Seven former Australian captains have formally requested Foreign Minister Penny Wong to engage with Pakistan regarding the welfare and treatment of former prime minister and World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan.
Allan Border, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Kim Hughes, Mark Taylor, and Steve Waugh emphasized they acted strictly as concerned cricketing peers rather than political actors, highlighting troubling reports regarding restricted legal access, limited family contact, and inadequate medical care.
“We take no position on the legal or political case against him. That is Pakistan’s business. But the treatment of any person in detention is a matter of basic humanity, whatever their politics,” the group stated in their letter, urging Canberra to raise the matter directly with relevant Pakistani officials.
This marks the third intervention by international skippers within a seven-month span. Previous appeals occurred in February—backed by 14 former captains including Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev—and in August, when 21 former captains renewed calls following developments concerning family visits and a Supreme Court-ordered medical examination. The report also notes that this is not the first time international captains have raised this concern. The report also notes that and the reports since then – now echoed by his own family – suggest the situation has not improved,” added the letter. “We would be grateful if the Australian Government could raise this directly with the relevant Pakistani authorities, it has been brought to public attention on two separate occasions in the past six months. The report also notes that the latest appeal comes after Khan’s sons, Sulaiman and Kasim, spoke to former England captain Michael Atherton in an interview broadcast by Sky Sports during the lunch break of the second England-Pakistan Test at Lord’s last month. The report also notes that prompting a formal complaint from the Pakistan Cricket Board and a reported threat not to return to the field after lunch, they spoke about their father’s deteriorating health and conditions in detention.
