Imran Khan's sons slam PCB over Lord's Test boycott threat

Sulaiman and Kasim, the sons of the former Pakistan Prime Minister and the captain of the cricket side Imran Khan, reckoned that Mohsin Naqvi and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made a fool of themselves when reports claimed that they wanted to boycott their second Test of the three-match series against England at Lord’s.

The PCB were angry at the broadcaster Sky Sports for organizing the interview between the former England captain, Michael Atherton, and Imran’s two sons, which was aired during the second Test match, as they threatened not to take the field after the tea break of the second day’s play.

"Made absolute fools of themselves" — Kasim and Sulaiman slam PCB's handling of the row

Despite the reports of the story, the Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, revealed that he had no idea of such a stance during the game. Even their head coach, Sarfaraz Ahmed, who has been sacked from his position for the third Test at Edgbaston, had no idea of the threat.

“They made absolute fools of themselves. I was expecting some sort of response. But I didn’t think they would be so tactless as to threaten not to take to the field.” Kasim told The Telegraph.

It shouldn’t be in the remit of the Pakistan Cricket Board to ask for an interview about an ex-Pakistan player, somebody who lived in England for 22 years, to be taken down. This wasn’t about politics, but about the humanitarian situation and his health.” He added in the same interaction.

Imran was imprisoned in Pakistan for nearly three years, and his sons expressed their fear over his health. Naqvi, on the other hand, is on the opposite end of the political spectrum from Imran.

Why did PCB threaten to pull Pakistan off the field during the Lord's Test?

The former 21 international captains of the game, including India’s Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, requested the Pakistan Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, to give proper medical care and welfare to their former captain and the PM.

Sky Sports scheduled the 18-minute, pre-recorded interview conducted by Atherton with Imran’s sons. The interview was focused on their father’s health, prison conditions, and the sharp criticisms directed at the government of the country.

Heading into the third Test of the series, Pakistan lost both Tests against England at Leeds and Lord’s, where their batting failed to cross 200 runs in all four innings of the game.