Sky Sports interview of Imran’s sons sparks outrage in cricket community

The outrage in the cricket community over Imran Khan’s detention over past three years boiled over with a Sky Sports interview of the former Pakistan prime minister and cricket captain’s two sons during the ongoing England-Pakistan Test at Lord’s, drawing the ire of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). A Cricinfo report says the PCB complained to Sky Sports and even considered whether Pakistan’s players should stay off the field for the start of the second session on Thursday, 27 August as a mark of protest.

This comes in the wake of another letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier this week, signed by 22 former international captains including Mike Atherton — now a Sky Sports TV pundit who interviewed Imran’s sons Suleiman and Kasim.

This is the second letter by the captains, former colleagues and rivals of Imran, making a three-point request to provide medical treatment of his choice and allowing family members to visit him. Two more former captains — England’s Mike Gatting and South African Kepler Wessels — have meanwhile also joined the appeal.

During the 18-minute conversation with Atherton, the brothers spoke about their father’s health and voiced fears over his safety, while also highlighting their ongoing efforts to secure appropriate medical treatment for him. “It is not very clear what they are doing, just blatantly trying to kill him in there. Keep him in as long as possible and silence him,” Kasim said in the interview.

Atherton had recorded the interview on Wednesday at Lord’s, with the TV channel also using a preview of the conversation ahead of the Test. The interview, understandably, was not aired in Pakistan where state broadcaster PTV holds television rights for the series.

A video podcast of Greg Chappell, the former Australian skipper who mobilised both the signature campaigns, has also gone viral. ‘’He’s been in complete isolation for last three years. I don’t know how someone deals with it — even if someone is physically and mentally as strong as him. He is not allowed to read books and is made to sit in the dark for most of the time. This is not something political but we want to keep it in people’s minds,’’ the Australian said.  

Imran, who served as prime minister from 2018-22, has been in jail on multiple charges since his removal from office. The allegations include corruption convictions carrying sentences of 10, 14 and 17 years. Before the 2024 elections, he was given a seven-year sentence in a case regarding the timing of his marriage to his current wife following her divorce.

His health has been a topic of massive scrutiny in Pakistan over the last few months, with his sons demanding proper healthcare. Last week, the country's Supreme Court ordered that he be shifted to Islamabad's Shifa Hospital but he was taken to state-run PIMS and returned to prison just after his check-up. His sisters and sons have made serious allegations about the court order violation, demanding that Imran be allowed to see his personal doctor.