Sarfaraz Ahmed Addresses PCB Threat Amid Imran Khan Interview

On a tense Lord’s weekend that briefly threatened to spill far beyond the boundary rope, Sarfaraz Ahmed drew a firm line between Pakistan’s dressing room and the political storm swirling around it.

The Pakistan head coach insisted neither he nor his players knew anything about a reported Pakistan Cricket Board threat to abandon the Test series over a Sky Sports interview with the sons of Imran Khan.

During lunch on day one of the second Test, Sky aired a segment with Suleiman and Kasim Khan, the sons of the former Pakistan captain and prime minister, who has been in prison for the past three years. Behind the scenes, it is understood the PCB had warned the England and Wales Cricket Board that the Test at Lord’s – and the rest of the three-match tour – could be cancelled if the interview went to air.

A version of the interview did go out. The players walked back through the Long Room after the interval and the cricket carried on.

Sarfaraz's Comments

Sarfaraz, speaking at the close of play on day two, was adamant that the squad had been kept completely away from the off-field wrangling.

"I don't know anything. I'm just focusing on the match," he said when asked about the PCB’s stance.

"You're talking about the interview? We don't know about the interview."

Pressed on whether there was ever a realistic chance Pakistan’s players would refuse to return for the afternoon session on the opening day, the former wicketkeeper was blunt.

"All are OK. We were having lunch at that time."

While administrators wrestled with the optics and implications of broadcasting the views of Imran Khan’s sons, the team, Sarfaraz suggested, simply ate, regrouped and prepared for the next session of a Lord’s Test.

Imran, 73, remains an inescapable figure in Pakistan’s cricketing story. The legendary all-rounder, who carved out a 21-year international career and famously captained Pakistan to World Cup glory in 1992, later carried his authority from the dressing room into politics, serving as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

Since 2023 he has been in jail on corruption charges, which he denies, a backdrop that inevitably shadows any mention of his name or family in public life.

At Lord’s, though, Sarfaraz’s message was clear: whatever battles rage in boardrooms and courtrooms, his players are being told to keep their eyes on the red ball, not the headlines.