PCB lodges formal complaint with Sky Sports over interview with Imran Khan's sons
The PCB protested to Sky Sports during the Lord's Test lunch break after an interview with Suleiman and Kasim Khan aired, with players briefly at risk of not returning to the field.
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The Pakistan Cricket Board has lodged a formal complaint with Sky Sports after the broadcaster aired an interview with Suleiman and Kasim Khan, the sons of former Pakistan prime minister and captain Imran Khan, at the lunch break on the opening day of the Lord's Test against England.
According to Cricinfo, the PCB raised its objection with Sky before the interval concluded, warning that Pakistan's players might refuse to resume play if the segment went ahead. Sky held back the interview during those discussions but ultimately broadcast the 18-minute clip in full. Pakistan's players were already preparing to walk out for the second session, scheduled to restart at 2.40pm, by the time the interview finished. The team did take the field as planned.
Mike Atherton, the former England captain who now works as a broadcaster for Sky Sports, recorded the interview with Imran's sons on Wednesday morning inside the Writers' Room at Lord's. Sky had promoted the segment with a teaser ahead of the Test. Pakistan's state broadcaster PTV, which holds the domestic rights to the series, chose not to air the interview.
What did Imran Khan's sons say in the Sky Sports interview?
Suleiman and Kasim Khan told Atherton they were deeply worried about their father's physical condition. Imran has been held in prison for three years, and his sons stated plainly that they feared for his life.
His health has attracted increasing attention over recent weeks. Pakistan's Supreme Court directed last week that Imran be admitted to Shifa Hospital in Islamabad for treatment. He was instead taken to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and returned to custody shortly after a routine check-up. Imran's sisters and sons have argued that this outcome breached the court's directive and have called for him to be permitted access to his own physician.
The Pakistan government pushed back against those claims. In a statement, authorities said Imran had received more than 900 visits from family members, lawyers and doctors since his imprisonment began in August 2023, and rejected any suggestion that he had been mistreated or cut off from support.
What is the wider international cricket response to Imran Khan's situation?
The Sky Sports interview came days after 21 former international captains, Atherton among them, addressed a letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif calling on the government to guarantee Imran proper medical care while in custody. Signatories included former captains from India, Australia, England, West Indies and New Zealand.
That letter built on an earlier appeal sent by 14 former captains in February, which the Pakistan government did not acknowledge or respond to.
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