New Delhi [India], August 23 (ANI): Twenty-two former international cricket captains have written another letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, renewing their appeal for medical treatment of former ODI World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan following recent developments that they say fall short of a Supreme Court directive, according to Cricinfo.

The letter was signed by Michael Atherton, Alex Blackwell, Allan Border, Michael Brearley, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Alastair Cook, Michael Gatting, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Lee Germon, Adam Gilchrist, David Gower, Kim Hughes, Nasser Hussain, Clive Lloyd, Arjuna Ranatunga, Andrew Strauss, Dilip Vengsarkar, Steve Waugh and John Wright.

'Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered that Imran Khan be transferred to hospital for examination by a medical board that was to include his own personal physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan,' the letter says, as quoted by Cricinfo.

'The Court also reinstated weekly family visits. These were very welcome steps. Concerningly, Mr Khan's hospital stay lasted only a few hours. He was examined by a state-appointed team rather than the board the Court had directed, declared 'medically fit,' and returned to Adiala Jail before that board could complete its work,' it added.

According to Cricinfo, the letter outlined three specific requests. The former captains called for the medical board directed by the Supreme Court, including Imran Khan's personal doctors, to be allowed to conduct a complete and independent assessment of his health, particularly regarding the reported loss of vision in his right eye.

The letter also urged authorities to ensure that the weekly family visits reinstated by the court take place without any interruption or administrative delays, and requested that any treatment recommended after the medical assessment be provided without delay.

Earlier in February this year, 14 former international captains had written a letter expressing concern over Imran Khan's health after reports of an eye-related issue emerged. Khan's family had alleged that the former Pakistan captain suffered severe vision loss in one eye due to a lack of medical attention during his imprisonment, according to Cricinfo.

The signatories, who said they were writing 'not as politicians, but as former colleagues and rivals who share a bond forged on the cricket field,' clarified that their appeal was not intended to interfere in Pakistan's internal legal matters.

Khan, who served as Pakistan's prime minister from 2018 to 2022, was sentenced to a slew of prison sentences after his removal from the top office. (ANI)