Pakistan considered boycotting play in protest against broadcast of Imran’s sons’ interview
Pakistan came close to boycotting the second session on the opening day of the Lord's Test against England after Sky Sports aired an interview with former prime minister Imran Khan's two sons, Sulaiman and Qasim Khan, despite objections from the Pakistan Cricket Board.
The board had lobbied Sky Sports not to broadcast the 18 minute interview, conducted by former England captain and current broadcaster Michael Atherton, and threatened that Pakistan's players would refuse to take the field after lunch should it go ahead as scheduled.
Sky delayed the segment during behind the scenes discussions but ultimately aired the full interview during the lunch interval.
By the time it concluded, Pakistan's players were already warming up ahead of the second session, and the team eventually took the field at the scheduled time of 2:40pm local time.
In the interview, recorded on Wednesday morning in the Lord's pavilion beneath a portrait of their father, Sulaiman and Qasim spoke about deep concerns for Imran's safety, alleging he faced deliberate mistreatment during his imprisonment.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan's interior minister, is understood to have been unhappy at critics of the government being given a public platform, with reports suggesting his discomfort played into the board's objection to the broadcast.
Imran, Pakistan's 1992 World Cup winning captain and prime minister between 2018 and 2022, has been imprisoned since August 2023 following his removal from office.
He has since received multiple sentences, including terms of 10, 14 and 17 years across separate corruption cases, along with a further seven year sentence handed down before the 2024 election.
Concerns over his health have grown sharply in recent weeks. Pakistan's Supreme Court had ordered his admission to Shifa Hospital in Islamabad last week, but he was instead taken to the state run PIMS facility, examined briefly, and returned to prison shortly afterwards.
Imran's sister and sons have accused authorities of violating that court order and have demanded he be allowed to see his personal physician, alleging he continues to be denied adequate family contact and medical care.
The situation has drawn wider attention from the cricketing world, with 21 former international captains, writing to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week urging proper medical treatment for Imran in custody.
Signatories included former captains from India, Australia, England, the West Indies and New Zealand, marking a follow up to an earlier letter from 14 former captains in February that went unanswered.
Pakistan's government has rejected the family's allegations, telling the Associated Press last week that Imran had received more than 900 visits from relatives, lawyers and doctors since his imprisonment began.
On the field, Pakistan enjoyed a productive if rain shortened opening day, restricting England to 248 for nine from just 56 overs, with pacers Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali taking four and three wickets respectively.