PCB Complains to Sky Sports Over Imran Khan Interview
The Pakistan Cricket Board has lodged a formal complaint with Sky Sports after the broadcaster aired an emotional interview with Imran Khan’s sons during the lunch interval of the second Test at Lord’s – a move that briefly threatened to spill from the television studio onto the field of play.
According to ESPNcricinfo, PCB officials were so angered by the decision that they even weighed up an extraordinary act of protest: instructing Pakistan’s players not to return after the break if the segment went to air.
Lunch interval turns political
The 18-minute interview, conducted by former England captain and Sky Sports presenter Michael Atherton, featured Suleiman and Kasim Khan speaking candidly about their father’s health and safety. Imran, Pakistan’s World Cup-winning captain and former Prime Minister, has been behind bars for nearly three years, with his family repeatedly voicing alarm over his medical treatment in custody.
The PCB is understood to have contacted Sky Sports before the lunch interval, objecting to the broadcast and warning of possible on-field repercussions. The message was clear: if the interview ran, Pakistan’s players might not.
Sky initially held the footage back. The tension eased slightly. Then the broadcaster pressed ahead and aired the interview later in the interval. By the time the programme finished, Pakistan’s players were already preparing to walk back out for the afternoon session, scheduled for 2:40pm local time, and the threatened boycott did not materialise.
Atherton had recorded the piece on Wednesday in the Writers' Room at Lord’s, with Sky trailing the interview ahead of the Test. Pakistan’s domestic rights holder, PTV, chose not to show it.
Imran Khan’s health back in the spotlight
The timing of the broadcast has sharpened focus on Imran Khan’s condition in Pakistan.
His sons have publicly demanded that he receive proper medical care, while his sisters have echoed those concerns and questioned the treatment he is receiving in prison. Last week, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered that Imran be moved to Islamabad’s Shifa Hospital for treatment. Instead, he was taken to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), given a check-up, and then sent back to jail.
His family say the Supreme Court’s directive was not properly implemented and continue to push for him to be examined by his personal physician.
Former captains close ranks
The row has reignited a growing international campaign around Imran’s welfare.
Twenty-two former international captains have written to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, urging the government to guarantee appropriate medical care for the 1992 World Cup-winning skipper.
The signatories form a heavyweight list from across eras and continents: Michael Atherton, Allan Border, Michael Brearley, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Alastair Cook, Michael Gatting, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Adam Gilchrist, David Gower, Nasser Hussain, Clive Lloyd, Arjuna Ranatunga, Andrew Strauss, Steve Waugh and John Wright among them.
Their letter follows an earlier appeal in February, signed by 14 former captains. According to ESPNcricinfo, that first intervention drew no response from the Pakistan government. The silence has only hardened the resolve of those now speaking up again.
Pakistan tighten their grip at Lord’s
While the politics swirled in the background and tempers frayed off the field, Pakistan’s players delivered a disciplined, quietly ruthless performance with the ball.
After choosing to bowl first, they pinned England down and closed the opening day with the hosts 248 for nine. Mohammed Abbas led the way, picking up four wickets with his familiar metronomic accuracy, while another three-wicket haul from the supporting cast ensured England never fully escaped the pressure.
Jamie Smith’s 61 and Jordan Cox’s 55 gave England some semblance of resistance, the pair dragging the innings away from outright collapse. But with wickets falling around them, the scoreboard never quite shook off the sense of vulnerability.
By stumps, England were one blow away from being bowled out and Pakistan held a firm grip on the match situation. On the field, the tourists had done almost everything right.
Off it, their board’s dispute with a major broadcaster had already left a very different kind of mark on this Lord’s Test – and raised an uncomfortable question about how far cricket can really stay insulated from the political storm that surrounds one of its most famous sons.
