How Imran's aura as cricketer keeps him afloat in his darkest hour

Imran Khan was first known to the world as one of cricket’s finest allrounders and Pakistan's most charismatic captain. And it is that identity that has resurrected him in public consciousness over the past few weeks. Which has surely generated heat under the collar for Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and the country’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi.

Two written appeals by former international cricket captains — a brainchild of Australian great Greg Chappell — to provide the 73-year-old former Pakistan prime minister the medical treatment of his family’s choice and permission to his family members to visit him at Adyala jail has fallen on deaf ears.

The embarrassment for the country's already controversial human rights record, however, came from unexpected quarters when, on the opening day of the second Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s last week, Michael Atherton’s explosive interview on Sky Sports with Imran’s sons Suleiman and Kasim went on air.

The interview — conducted after Suleiman and Kasim were shown a giant portrait of their father — was high on emotion, and the buzz was that PCB even considered pulling out the team after lunch for airing a ‘political’ interview. The age-old notion of sport and politics not going hand in hand has long ceased to be, and Naqvi himself — PCB chairman, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief, and a key minister — is a prime example.

It was a commendable piece of journalism by Atherton, who seems to have won more respect and friends in his new avatar than he did as a rather conservative England captain. The impact of the interview reminded one of the soul-stirring, unscripted speech by Michael Holding on why the 'Black Lives Matter' movement was so important following George Floyd's murder during an England-West Indies Test in 2020. Both incidents, in a way, serve as a pointer to how sport can be a soft power and tool to make a point.

There is no doubt that the PCB is on the back foot for now — more so with Babar Azam’s Test team in the middle of a nightmarish series. The British media was unrelenting at match-day press conferences about whether the players had seen the interview — everyone from Test coach Sarfaraz Ahmed to Babar maintained that they hadn’t, and were "having lunch".

While the PCB has now advised its players not to comment publicly on the imprisonment of Imran and their contracted players are forced to abide by it, erstwhile colleagues of Pakistan’s only ICC World Cup-winning captain in 1991 have no such compulsions.

With former Pakistan players at the receiving end for not speaking up earlier or being part of the signatories to the appeal — which significantly includes three Indians in Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar — the current outrage has prompted the likes of Javed Miandad, Moin Khan and Ramiz Raja to join the chorus.

It was indeed touching to see Miandad — a strong-headed personality and not the best of friends with his captain off-the-field — break into tears. ‘’I think about it all the time, what he must be doing [in prison], what he must be thinking of. We were so close. We used to be together and think so much of each other. We took Pakistan to such new heights. I can’t help but feel so sad about it.”

Moin Khan, the stumper in Imran’s army of 'cornered tigers' (as Imran famously described their situation in 1992), said: “Imran Khan is very unwell. I appeal to the government of Pakistan that Imran be granted his rights as a former prime minister and citizen of Pakistan with regards to his treatment.”

Interestingly, one is yet to hear from Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis — the legendary pace duo who owed the most to Imran for spotting their raw talent. Meanwhile, the first cricketer from the current generation to throw in his two cents has been Pat Cummins, the Australian Test captain and a cerebral personality. May Cummins' tribe increase as it's increasingly making a difference.