PCB Protests Sky Sports Interview with Imran Khan’s Sons

The Pakistan Cricket Board has launched a formal protest with Sky Sports after the broadcaster aired an emotional interview with Imran Khan’s sons during the lunch interval of the second Test at Lord’s – a move that briefly threatened to spill from the television studio onto the field of play.

According to ESPNcricinfo, PCB officials were so angered by the decision that they discussed instructing Pakistan’s players not to return after lunch in protest, an extraordinary step in the middle of a marquee Test against England at the home of cricket.

PCB fury over lunch-time broadcast

The flashpoint came during an 18-minute segment fronted by Michael Atherton, filmed earlier in the week in the Writers' Room at Lord’s. Sitting opposite him were Suleiman and Kasim Khan, speaking candidly about the health and safety of their father, the former Pakistan prime minister and 1992 World Cup-winning captain, who has been in prison for nearly three years.

Their concerns, and those long voiced by the rest of Imran Khan’s family, centre on his medical treatment behind bars. The tone was personal, emotional, and unmistakably political in a series being aired during a high-profile Test involving Pakistan.

The PCB is understood to have contacted Sky Sports before the lunch interval and raised strong objections to the interview being shown during the live broadcast. Officials warned the broadcaster that Pakistan’s players could refuse to take the field for the afternoon session if the footage went out.

Sky initially held the piece back. The interview was eventually aired, but by the time the segment ended, Pakistan’s players were already preparing to resume play for the 2:40pm local time restart. The threat of a walk-off receded, yet the anger in the Pakistan camp did not.

The interview did not appear on Pakistan’s domestic rights holder, PTV, underlining the sensitivity of the subject back home.

Imran’s health back under the spotlight

The timing of the broadcast dropped into an already charged atmosphere in Pakistan, where concern over Imran Khan’s health has been steadily rising.

His sons have publicly demanded proper medical care for their father. His sisters have gone further, questioning the treatment he receives in prison and the authorities’ handling of court orders.

Last week, Pakistan’s Supreme Court instructed that Imran be moved to Islamabad’s Shifa Hospital for medical treatment. Instead, he was taken to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where he underwent a check-up before being sent back to prison.

His family insists the Supreme Court’s directive was not correctly implemented and has renewed calls for him to be examined by his personal physician. The dispute over his care has become a running battle, now played out in courtrooms, on the streets, and, at Lord’s, on television screens.

Former captains close ranks

The controversy around the Sky interview also reignited a rare show of unity from some of the game’s most respected figures.

Twenty-two former international captains have written to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, urging the government to guarantee appropriate medical care for Imran Khan. The list reads like a roll call of cricket royalty: Atherton, Allan Border, Michael Brearley, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Alastair Cook, Michael Gatting, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Adam Gilchrist, David Gower, Nasser Hussain, Clive Lloyd, Arjuna Ranatunga, Andrew Strauss, Steve Waugh and John Wright among them.

The letter follows an earlier appeal in February, signed by 14 former captains. According to ESPNcricinfo, that first plea drew no response from the Pakistan government. This second, louder intervention underlines how far concern for Imran’s health has travelled beyond Pakistan’s borders.

Pakistan tighten their grip on the field

While the political storm gathered off it, Pakistan’s cricketers produced a disciplined, ruthless performance with the ball on the opening day at Lord’s.

After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, Pakistan strangled England’s batting and reduced the hosts to 248 for nine by stumps. Mohammed Abbas led the way with four wickets, his relentless line and length cutting through England’s top order and middle.

Support came from another three-wicket haul in the attack, keeping England under constant pressure and preventing any lasting partnerships from forming.

Jamie Smith’s 61 and Jordan Cox’s 55 gave England some resistance and a measure of respectability. Their half-centuries dragged the total towards something competitive, but never quite shifted the balance of the day.

By the close, with England one wicket away from being bowled out, Pakistan held a firm grip on the match situation. On the scoreboard, they were in control. In the background, a dispute with a major broadcaster rumbled on, raising a pointed question that will linger long after this Test ends: how far will cricket’s biggest institutions go when the game collides with the politics of one of its most iconic figures?