Cummins’ risky call to join campaign threatening to divide world cricket
Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins has joined a growing campaign calling for Pakistan cricket legend Imran Khan to receive urgent medical care.
Khan, 73, has been locked in a jail cell since 2023 and there are fears his health is deteriorating.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been in jail since 2023. AP
The legendary former captain became Pakistan’s prime minister in 2018, but was ousted in 2022 and then jailed the following year over allegations of corruption, which he’s maintained were politically motivated.
He is reportedly stuck in solitary confinement, with his family alleging authorities are refusing basic human rights.
“He is being tortured, mentally tortured with this solitary confinement, prolonged isolation,” Khan’s son Sulaiman said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, sitting alongside his brother Kasim.
“What are they hiding? We want to see proof that he is OK.”
There was almost a revolt in London on Friday when Sky Sports aired an interview with Sulaiman and Kasim Khan during the lunch break of Pakistan’s Test match against England.
According to reports, the Pakistan government was fuming and threatened to order the players to boycott the remainder of the match. Test captain Babar Azam denied he was aware of any such threat, and the players finished the match as scheduled.
But King Charles has called a meeting with the Pakistan team to discuss the issue and any grievances later this week. There is still one Test remaining in the series.
Khan’s daughter has previously called on King Charles to condemn the treatment of her father.
Last week, 23 cricket legends signed a letter and sent it to the Pakistan government, pleading for Khan to receive medical attention.
Aussie legend Greg Chappell was one of the signatories.
“He has been in isolation for three years. I don’t know how anyone deals with that,” Chappell told The Grade Cricketer podcast.
“Imran was as strong, mentally and physically, as anyone I played cricket with or against, but I don’t know how you deal with absolute isolation for three years.
“It’s really about keeping it in people’s minds. This isn’t a political thing from our point of view, this is about human rights.
“Nobody should be kept in those conditions.”
In response to the Chappell comments, current captain Cummins weighed in.
“Adding my support here to GC (Chappell) and the other former international captains,” Cummins posted to social media.
“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.”
Cummins is the first active captain to publicly join the campaign.
Pat Cummins and Babar Azam shake hands. nna\zgates
Australia has a gruelling 18 months of cricket ahead but Cummins and his team are not scheduled to face Pakistan during that period, unless both teams make the World Test Championship final.
The public statement from Cummins could be a risk to any such fixture given the Pakistan government’s response to last week’s Sky Sports decision.
Khan was taken to hospital for a health check last week but was reportedly taken to a public, government-run facility rather than the private hospital his family were told he would attend.
His sons fear their father’s actual health condition is being kept secret and want an independent doctor to provide an update on his physical and mental wellbeing.
“Where is the humanity in not allowing someone to receive basic health checks, or basic treatment?” Kasim Khan said on Al Jazeera.
“The pettiness, the petty torture techniques - not allowing him to have new books, phone calls with his children. We’re trying to make as much noise as possible, so the world can see how corrupt it is, and their complete lack of respect for the rule of law.”
Pakistan’s third Test against England begins next Wednesday.
