Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has expressed profound distress over the incarceration conditions and declining health of his longtime friend and legendary rival, Imran Khan. As reports emerge that the 1992 World Cup hero has lost 85 percent of the vision in his right eye while in custody, Gavaskar has joined an international chorus of cricketing icons demanding immediate intervention from the Pakistan government.
A Friendship Forged in 1971
The bond between Gavaskar and Khan transcends the fierce India-Pakistan rivalry. Their friendship began in 1971, when Imran was a young cricketer attempting to break into the Worcestershire county side as an overseas player. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Gavaskar reflected on the current situation with visible pain.
“It’s terrible what they are doing to him. We have been friends since he was trying to qualify as an overseas player for Worcestershire and not just rivals on the field,” Gavaskar stated.
The Man Who Postponed Gavaskar’s Retirement
The depth of their relationship was perhaps most evident in 1986, when Imran Khan personally persuaded Gavaskar to delay his retirement. Gavaskar had planned to hang up his boots following India’s tour of England, but Imran intervened to ensure one final showdown on the subcontinent.
“You can’t retire now. Pakistan is coming to India next year, and I want to beat India in India. If you aren’t part of that team, it won’t be the same. Come on, let’s have one last tilt against each other,” Imran Khan told Gavaskar at the time. This mutual respect defined an era of cricket where, despite political tensions, the two stars remained close, even working together as broadcasters in the early 2000s.
Dire Conditions in Custody
Imran Khan has been imprisoned alongside his wife, Bushra Bibi, since August 2023. Currently serving a 31-year sentence following a December 2025 verdict, the former Prime Minister is reportedly being held in a “death cell” with restricted access to family and basic rights.
His son, Sulaiman, has highlighted the psychological and physical toll of the imprisonment. “Sometimes the electricity is cut off. Sometimes he won’t be allowed to read materials. I hated him being in politics when I was younger. I was constantly worried because I would hear stories that his life was in danger. There have been two incidents already where he almost died: in 2013, he fell off a 20-foot platform during a rally in Lahore, and three years ago, he was shot,” Sulaiman remarked.
International Intervention
Gavaskar is one of 14 legendary captains from India, England, New Zealand, Australia, and the West Indies who co-signed a petition addressed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. While Pakistani legends like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis have voiced support on social media, the formal international petition notably lacks signatures from former Pakistan captains, highlighting the sensitive political climate in the country.
The petition emphasizes that regardless of political perspectives, a global sporting icon and democratically elected leader deserves dignity and the right to specialist medical attention. For Gavaskar, seeing his contemporary struggle in such a manner is more than a sporting tragedy; it is a personal blow to a friendship that has endured for over five decades.
