Seven former Australia captains urge Penny Wong to raise Imran Khan’s treatment in detention
Seven former Australia cricket captains wrote to Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong on 2026-09-15 to raise concerns about the treatment of jailed former Pakistan captain Imran Khan while in detention, the letter said.
Allan Border, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Kim Hughes, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh signed the appeal, which highlighted worries over Khan’s health, medical care and his access to family and legal counsel. The group said they were not commenting on Khan’s legal or political cases and instead were speaking as former captains compelled to raise what they described as a matter of "basic humanity". Khan, 73, has been held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since 2023 after being convicted in corruption cases, and his prolonged detention and reported health concerns have prompted appeals from family members and former cricketers for appropriate medical attention.
The letter noted that Khan’s sons and sisters have repeatedly voiced concerns about limited medical care, restricted contact with his family and minimal access to legal counsel. The signatories framed their intervention around the treatment of a person in detention irrespective of political position. The Australian captains added their names to a broader, international chorus of former players pressing Pakistani authorities over Khan’s conditions.
Earlier appeals included an August 23 letter from 22 former captains worldwide to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that called for better medical treatment for Khan. That August letter urged officials to allow a medical board ordered by Pakistan’s Supreme Court, including doctors chosen by Khan, to perform a full and independent assessment of his health. The same appeal asked that weekly family visits, which had been ordered by the court, be restored without interruption and that any treatment recommended by the medical assessment be provided without delay.
An earlier letter in February was signed by 14 former international captains, and the latest intervention brings prominent Australian names into the ongoing appeals. Greg Chappell also sought a meeting with Minister Wong last month to discuss the matter on behalf of the group but has not received a response. Several former Pakistan cricketers — including Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Moin Khan — have spoken publicly about Khan’s situation, and current Australia captain Pat Cummins has previously called for Khan to be treated with dignity.
West Indies great Brian Lara was among recent high-profile former captains to address Khan’s condition; Lara said he was struggling to understand how someone who had once been a source of hope and inspiration for Pakistan could now find himself in a situation where he was not being cared for with compassion and dignity. The Australian letter keeps the focus on treatment in detention and deliberately avoids taking a position on Khan’s political and legal matters.
The letter to Penny Wong is the latest appeal from former international cricketers and, as of this report, the group has not received a response from the minister; Greg Chappell’s request for a meeting last month likewise has not been answered.