Pakistan head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed says neither he nor his players were aware of a Pakistan Cricket Board threat to the England and Wales Cricket Board over Sky Sports’ interview with the sons of Imran Khan, insisting the touring party was “just focusing on the match” as the second Test at Lord’s slipped away from them.
Asked repeatedly about reports that Pakistan had considered refusing to take the field after lunch on day one, Sarfaraz was flat in his denial. “I don’t know anything about that,” he said. “No, no, no, we don’t know anything about an interview.”
The 18-minute segment, recorded on the Wednesday before the Test and conducted by former England captain Michael Atherton, featured Sulaiman and Kasim Khan discussing the imprisonment of their father, the 1992 World Cup-winning captain and former prime minister, who has been in jail for three years. Kasim said authorities were “trying to kill him”. The PCB objected to Sky before the interval, and it is understood the board warned that its players would not return after lunch if the piece aired.
A lunch break that nearly stopped a Test match
Sky delayed the broadcast while discussions continued, then ran the interview in full. By the time it finished, Pakistan’s players were already preparing to resume. The afternoon and evening sessions went ahead without interruption, and the only visible disruption on the opening day was the weather.
The ECB was drawn into the dispute, holding talks with the touring party to defuse it. The PCB has since lodged a formal complaint with Sky and is understood to have considered raising the matter with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. In Pakistan, state broadcaster PTV, which holds the domestic rights to the series, did not show the segment at all.
Sarfaraz’s position is a familiar one for a coach: the dispute was conducted between administrators, broadcasters and officials, not in the dressing room. Whether the players were genuinely insulated from it or simply declined to discuss it, his answer served the same purpose — to keep a cricket story about cricket, at a point in the series where Pakistan can afford no further distraction.
The cricket has been just as unforgiving
Pakistan arrived at Lord’s 1-0 down after England won inside three days at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs, Joe Root’s first Test back in charge. Pakistan were bowled out for 171 and 135 there, with Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue and Jofra Archer taking three wickets each in the second innings, while Harry Brook’s 91, Jordan Cox’s 73, Root’s 66 and Dan Lawrence’s 51 carried England to 409.
At Lord’s the pattern repeated. England’s own batting was untidy — they were dismissed for 290, with Tongue’s 30 and a last-wicket stand of 42 alongside Gus Atkinson dragging them past a modest score on a seam-friendly surface where Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali bowled well. Pakistan’s reply lasted barely a session and a half: 110 all out, with Robinson and Archer sharing the bulk of the wickets.
England resumed their second innings on day three with a lead already beyond Pakistan’s reach on the evidence so far, Brook and Emilio Gay at the crease. A 2-0 series defeat, with a third Test still to come, would leave Sarfaraz’s tenure as Test head coach — a job he took alongside Asad Shafiq and Umar Gul in support roles — under scrutiny after barely any time to establish it.
Cricket and politics, again, on a Pakistan tour
The episode is the latest instance of Pakistani cricket being pulled into the country’s domestic politics. Imran Khan’s status makes that unavoidable: he remains the most decorated captain in Pakistan’s history, was later prime minister, and his imprisonment is the central controversy of Pakistani public life. Any broadcaster that puts his family on air during a Test match is making a choice with consequences beyond the cricket.
It also lands on a relationship that has needed repair before. England’s withdrawal from a short tour of Pakistan in 2021 caused lasting resentment at the PCB, and it took the full 2022 tour to restore normal relations. Neither board will want a broadcast dispute to reopen that.
The immediate questions are narrower. Sky, as rights-holder, will resist any suggestion that a touring board can dictate its editorial output. The PCB has made its complaint and will expect a response. And the ECB, having brokered the peace at Lord’s, must now manage the rest of a series with one Test still to play. Sarfaraz, for his part, has a batting order to fix — a problem entirely within his own control, and the one he seems most willing to talk about.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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