The Pakistan Cricket Board has reportedly made a formal complaint to British broadcaster Sky Sports after it broadcast an interview conducted by former England captain Mike Atherton with the sons of Imran Khan, Kasim and Sulaiman. The interview was aired during the coverage of the first day’s play of the Lord’s Test between England and Pakistan, the second match of the three-Test series.

Cricinfo and The Guardian have reported that the PCB made a complaint to the broadcaster about the issue, with the former further stating that the board considered the option of the Pakistan team not taking the field after the lunch break in protest.

Atherton is a signatory in two letters drafted by former international cricket captains appealing to the Pakistan government for better treatment of Imran, the country’s former Prime Minister and among their greatest cricketers of all time. Imran, who has been in prison for three years, is also among the country’s most succesfull captains, credited with having played a pivotal role at the start of the careers of numerous Pakistan greats. He also led the team to their only World Cup victory in 1992. While the first of these letters was drafted in February, the second was earlier this week, when Imran was returned to the Adiala jail he was held in after a brief medical check up.

In the interview with Atherton, Imran’s sons Suleiman and Kasim Khan expressed concerns about their father’s health in prison and stated that they feared for his life. Imran served as Pakistan’s prime minister from 2018 to 2022 and has received multiple prison sentences since his removal from office. These include corruption convictions carrying sentences of 10, 14 and 17 years. Ahead of the 2024 elections, he received a seven-year sentence in a case concerning the timing of his marriage to his current wife following her divorce.