Michael Holding's Heartfelt Plea for Imran Khan's Humane Treatment

Michael Holding’s voice tightens when he reaches Imran Khan’s name. The cricket, for once, is secondary.

The West Indies great, usually measured and economical with his words, has called the treatment of the former Pakistan captain and ex-Prime Minister “extremely sad” and “ridiculous”, as concern grows over Imran’s conditions in a Pakistani prison.

Imran has been behind bars since 2023, facing a raft of legal cases. His family say he is being denied basic facilities, including access to books and proper medical care. That picture was reinforced recently when Michael Atherton interviewed Imran’s sons, Sulaiman and Kasim, during the Lord’s Test between England and Pakistan — an 18‑minute segment that Sky Sports chose to air despite pressure.

The Pakistan Cricket Board had threatened to pull out of the fixture if the interview was broadcast. Sky went ahead anyway. On air, the two sons spoke of unfair treatment and of a father they say is being denied even elementary standards of care.

For Holding, who shared dressing rooms and battles with Imran during their playing days, the situation cuts deep.

“I'll mention one name, Imran Khan, but you probably don't want to go down the political route, and I don't want to either, but that's a sad story,” he told Sports Now, making it clear this was not about party lines or policy, but about a man he knows.

He then wound the clock back. Not to a Test match, but to a different kind of campaign.

When Imran was criss-crossing London to raise funds for the Shaukat Khanum cancer hospital, Holding was there, walking beside him. “I went around with him, I tried to support him as best as I possibly could, where that was concerned. So I know the man, and I know exactly what type of person that he is,” he recalled.

That shared experience has sharpened his reaction to the current reality.

“It's extremely sad to see the situation now and what is going on with Imran Khan," the 72‑year‑old said, his words carrying the weight of someone who has seen enough dressing rooms and boardrooms to recognise when a line has been crossed.

Holding did not stop at personal reminiscence. He openly questioned why one of Pakistan’s most recognisable global figures is being treated in a way he believes fails even the most basic standards of decency.

"I am in total support of the captains who wrote that letter,” he said, referring to the group of former Pakistan skippers who have appealed for humane treatment for Imran. “I don't know what effect it will have, but I am in total support of trying to get the man to be treated just like another human being.”

Then came the blunt comparison.

“You don't treat human beings that way. People who have committed murder aren't treated that way. So I don't see the reason why this man should be treated that way."

The injustice, in Holding’s eyes, may even be rooted in something as old and corrosive as envy.

“I don't know if there's jealousy involved in this, because Imran Khan. I don't think there's a Pakistani that is more well known around the world than Imran Khan. That is ridiculous, the way the man is being treated,” he added.

From a man famed for his quiet, rhythmic run-up and his refusal to waste a word, this was not a casual intervention. It was a deliberate, public stance: a fast bowler who once tried to knock Imran’s off stump out of the ground now asking, with equal force, that he at least be treated like a human being.