The PCB protested an 18-minute Sky Sports interview in which Suleiman and Kasim Khan raised concerns about their father’s health and safety.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has lodged a formal complaint with Sky Sports after the broadcaster aired an interview with the sons of former Pakistan captain and prime minister Imran Khan during the lunch interval on the first day of the Lord’s Test.
According to Cricinfo, the PCB considered the possibility of Pakistan’s players not returning to the field after lunch in protest over the broadcast.
Former England captain and Sky Sports broadcaster Mike Atherton conducted the 18-minute interview with Imran Khan’s sons, Suleiman and Kasim Khan. During the interview, they expressed concern about their father’s health and said they feared for his life.
The PCB is understood to have contacted Sky Sports before the lunch interval and warned that Pakistan’s players would not return to the field if the interview was broadcast. Sky subsequently delayed the programme before eventually airing the clip.
The interview concluded as Pakistan’s players were preparing to return for the second session at 2:40 p.m. local time. The team ultimately took the field as scheduled.
Atherton interviewed the two brothers on Wednesday morning in the Writers’ Room at Lord’s, with Sky Sports also showing a teaser ahead of the Test. Pakistan Television, which is broadcasting the series in Pakistan, did not air the interview.
Cricinfo reported that the PCB also wanted to raise a complaint with the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Imran Khan’s health has faced increasing scrutiny in recent weeks, with his sons and sisters calling for appropriate medical care. Last week, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered that he be admitted to Shifa Hospital in Islamabad. He was instead taken to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences for a check-up and subsequently returned to prison.
Imran’s family has alleged that the decision violated the court order and has called for him to be allowed access to his personal doctor.
The controversy comes after 22 former international captains, including Atherton, wrote to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urging authorities to ensure that Imran receives proper medical care in prison. The letter followed an earlier appeal by 14 former captains in February.
The Pakistan government has rejected allegations that Imran was mistreated in prison or denied access to family members and lawyers. In a statement to The Associated Press last week, the government said he had received more than 900 visits from family members, lawyers and doctors since his imprisonment in August 2023.
The PCB has been contacted for official comment.
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