The Pakistan Cricket Board has lodged a formal objection with Sky Sports after the broadcaster aired an 18-minute interview with Imran Khan’s sons during the lunch interval on the opening day of the Lord’s Test, turning a marquee series into an unexpected flashpoint over politics, broadcasting rights and player power.
The segment, fronted by former England captain Michael Atherton, featured Suleiman Khan and Kasim Khan speaking about their father’s health and fears for his safety in prison. It was recorded at Lord’s on Wednesday, the day before the Test, and teased in Sky’s pre-match build-up. By Thursday lunchtime, it had become the centre of a stand-off.
PCB threatens player no-show
According to Cricinfo, the PCB contacted Sky Sports before the first-innings break and objected to the planned broadcast, taking issue with the decision to run such a politically charged interview in the middle of a live Test involving Pakistan.
The stakes were made clear. The board reportedly warned Sky that Pakistan’s players could refuse to return to the field for the second session if the interview went to air.
For a period, the pressure appeared to work. Sky initially held the segment back. The lunch interval ticked on, the usual analysis and highlights filling the gap while talks continued behind the scenes.
Then the interview ran.
Sky eventually broadcast the Atherton conversation during the interval, though it did not appear on screens in Pakistan, where state broadcaster PTV holds the television rights for the series. Any prospect of a player protest remained just that — a threat — but the episode left a visible fault line between the PCB and its host broadcaster.
The PCB has not issued any public statement on the complaint or the reported warning about a potential player walk-off.
Imran’s sons raise alarm over health and safety
On screen with Atherton, Suleiman and Kasim spoke at length about their father’s condition in custody and their fears over his safety. They outlined their efforts to secure what they described as proper medical treatment for the 1992 World Cup-winning captain, who has now been incarcerated for around three years.
Their appearance marked a more public phase in the family’s campaign. In recent weeks, Imran’s sons have intensified calls for greater medical access, arguing that his health and treatment have become a serious concern as his time in prison has lengthened.
Those concerns have been echoed by a growing number of former players, who have stepped into a debate that now stretches well beyond cricket.
Supreme Court order deepens the dispute
The broadcast row comes on the heels of a fresh legal controversy in Pakistan. Last week, the country’s Supreme Court ordered that Imran be admitted to Shifa Hospital in Islamabad.
That did not happen.
Instead, he was taken to the government-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for a check-up and then returned to prison. His sisters and sons say the authorities ignored the court’s directive and have continued to demand that he be examined by his own doctor.
Their accusations have sharpened the tone of the discussion. Former international cricketers have publicly urged that the former captain receive better medical care, adding sporting weight to what has become a charged national argument.
The Pakistan government has rejected claims of mistreatment or restricted access. Speaking to the Associated Press last week, officials said Imran had received more than 900 visits from relatives, lawyers and doctors since his imprisonment in August 2023.
Atherton among captains backing Imran
Atherton’s role in the Lord’s interview did not come out of nowhere. Only last week, he was one of 21 former international captains to sign a letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, urging authorities to ensure Imran receives proper medical attention while in custody.
The signatories included former captains from India, Australia, England, New Zealand and the West Indies — a cross-continental show of support rarely seen for a political prisoner, even one who once lifted the World Cup.
It followed an earlier appeal in February, when 14 former international captains wrote to the Pakistan government on the same issue. Reports at the time said that letter went unanswered.
Now the argument has spilled into a live Test match, with a lunchtime interview at Lord’s prompting a formal complaint, a threatened protest and an uncomfortable question for the sport: how long can cricket pretend this is just another series when one of its most iconic figures is at the centre of a battle over health, justice and the limits of what can be said on air?
