The letter signed by 14 former international cricket captains in support of more humane treatment of, and medical attention to, Imran Khan has certainly touched a chord in the cricketing community. The chorus is now growing, with former India captains Sourav Ganguly and Mohammed Azharuddin joining in, a case of better late than never.

It’s been nearly three years that the 73-year-old Khan — Pakistan's only 50-over World Cup-winning captain and one of the game's most charismatic characters — was sentenced to prison after being convicted in ‘corruption related cases’. The plot to debilitate a former PM during in prison looks familiar given Pakistan's track record, and there were repeated false alarms about him killed in prison, while his family has been crying hoarse about his alleged mistreatment.

What proved the last straw was news that Khan would have to be shifted to hospital, having lost 85 per cent of his eyesight. The man who initiated the praiseworthy move to rally the global cricket community around one of its own was Greg Chappell, who approached Sunil Gavaskar to lend his signature to an appeal which has........

© National Herald