Former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and ex-player Ramiz Raja opened up about former captain Imran Khan’s situation in a recent podcast. Khan, who had led Pakistan to their maiden World Cup triumph in 1992, served as Pakistan’s Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022 before he was removed from office and received multiple prison sentences.

“He is in isolation. He has got a lot of fans, but it is just that the poor guy has been behind bars now for three years. It has been a tough one for him. Just a week back, there was some problem with his eye that seems to be sorted, but otherwise, he is holding up,” Raja said while speaking on the Stick To Cricket podcast.

On Sunday, 22 former captains, including Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar, had written to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about taking steps to improve Khan’s health. This letter had come months after 14 former captains had written to Sharif expressing concern over Khan’s health. At that time, reports had emerged that Khan was suffering from an eye condition, which his family said had left him almost completely blind in one eye and with allegations of medical neglect in prison.

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“Dear Prime Minister, six months ago, fourteen former international cricket captains wrote to you and the Pakistani government appealing for humane treatment and proper medical care for Imran Khan. We wrote then not as politicians, but as former colleagues and rivals who share a bond forged on the cricket field, one that transcends the borders and disputes that too often divide countries. We write again now, joined by seven further former captains, because of what has reportedly just occurred,” the letter read.

“Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered that Imran Khan be transferred to a hospital for examination by a medical board that was to include his own personal physicians and his sister, Dr Uzma Khan. 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. His family and legal team say this falls short of what the court ordered,” the letter added.

On Monday, Kapil again restated his support and sought the best treatment for the fellow former all-rounder. “I would like to support my friend, against whom we played and admired his cricketing skill. We don’t know the law of the country, that’s fine. But humanity and simple facilities should be given to a prisoner, whoever he may be. And he was a former prime minister of the country and a top cricketer of the world,” Dev said at the launch event of PGTI’s ‘Race to DP World India Championship’.