PCB Complains to Sky Sports Over Interview with Imran Khan's Sons

The Pakistan Cricket Board has lodged a formal complaint with Sky Sports after the broadcaster aired an interview with Imran Khan’s sons during day one of the second Test at Lord’s, dragging a volatile political story directly into the heart of a marquee cricket broadcast.

Kasim and Sulaiman Khan, speaking on air, used the platform to voice deep concern over the Pakistan government’s treatment of their father, the former prime minister and World Cup-winning captain, who has spent the past three years in solitary confinement. Their appearance cut sharply across the usual soft-focus fare of rain delays and lunch intervals, turning a Lord’s Test into a live forum on human rights and state power.

Khan’s legal team has long argued that his conditions amount to “slow-motion murder”. His sister has alleged he has been tortured in prison. At 73, the former Pakistan captain’s health has become a central part of the story. He was moved to a hospital last week after a supreme court ruling allowed temporary release for treatment, only to be sent back to prison soon after.

The PCB’s exact line of complaint has not been made public. What is clear is its anger that Sky offered airtime to voices openly critical of the Pakistani government. For a board that operates in a politically charged environment, seeing the national team’s live coverage used as a conduit for opposition to the state has struck a nerve.

Sky has acknowledged receiving the complaint but declined to comment when approached by the Guardian. The England and Wales Cricket Board has also been informed of the PCB’s grievances and likewise refused to be drawn into the row.

Away from the broadcast dispute, concern over Khan’s condition has been building across the cricket world. Some of the game’s greatest former players have twice come together in recent months to call for humane treatment and proper medical care for the man who lifted the 1992 World Cup.

Their first joint letter, published in February, carried heavyweight signatures: six former England captains, former India captain Kapil Dev, and former Australia batters Adam Gilchrist and Greg Chappell among them. This week they followed up with a second letter, sharpening their demand for “a full and independent assessment of his health”, with particular focus on his right eye.

Khan’s lawyers say he has lost 85% of the vision in that eye, which they attribute directly to the conditions in which he is being held. The figure is stark, and it has only intensified scrutiny of his treatment.

One detail stands out. Not a single Pakistani cricketer added their name to either letter. In a saga where politics, loyalty and fear collide, that silence may be as telling as anything said on air at Lord’s.