‘I hope Imran Khan is treated with the dignity anyone deserves’ – Pat Cummins backs former captains’ call

Australia Test captain Pat Cummins has publicly aligned himself with a growing group of former international cricketers who are calling for proper treatment of Imran Khan.

The 73-year-old former Pakistan captain and prime minister who has been held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since August 2023 following conviction on corruption charges and a 14-year prison sentence.

“Adding my support here to GC and the other former international captains. I hope the court ordered medical assessment be allowed to run its course, and that family visits continue. I hope Imran Khan is treated with the dignity anyone deserves,” wrote Cummins on X.

The two open letters and their signatories

That letter was signed by 21 former international captains, seven more than the 14 who had written the first appeal in February 2026. Greg Chappell, who initiated both letters, described the exercise as a human rights matter rather than a political intervention. The February letter had been prompted by reports that Khan had suffered severe vision loss in his right eye.

His lawyer stated by February 2026 that the damage amounted to approximately 85 per cent loss of sight in that eye, linked to a central retinal vein condition that went without adequate treatment from October 2025 onwards. Khan was taken to a government hospital in January 2026 for an eye procedure, but the Supreme Court-ordered stay concluded within hours and he was transferred back to Adiala Jail the same day.

“We write again now — joined by seven further former captains — because of what has reportedly just occurred. We hope this matter can be resolved expeditiously and with the dignity Mr Imran Khan deserves,” the second letter stated.

Chappell, who had shared a dinner with Khan in 2004 during a coaching stint at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, also spoke about Khan’s condition on The Grade Cricketer podcast. He recalled meeting Khan in Pakistan approximately six years before the letters, at which point Khan had appeared physically strong and mentally resilient. Chappell raised concern about the effects that extended confinement can have on a person’s physical and mental health, particularly at the age of 73.

The 21 signatories of the August 23 letter were Michael Atherton, Alex Blackwell, Allan Border, Michael Brearley, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Sir Alastair Cook, Sunil Gavaskar, Lee Germon, Adam Gilchrist, David Gower, Kim Hughes, Nasser Hussain, Sir Clive Lloyd, Kapil Dev, Arjuna Ranatunga, Sir Andrew Strauss, Dilip Vengsarkar, Stephen Waugh and John Wright. The original February 2026 letter had been signed by Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Lloyd, Border, Atherton, Hussain, Brearley, Gower, Waugh, Wright, Hughes and Clark.