Sarfaraz Ahmed Says Pakistan Team Knew Nothing of Tour Threat

Pakistan head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed says he and his players had no knowledge of a reported threat by the Pakistan Cricket Board to end the ongoing Test tour of England. The issue arose after Sky Sports broadcast an interview with the sons of former Pakistan captain and prime minister Imran Khan during the second Test at Lord's.

Watch the highlights:

BBC Sport reported that the interview with Suleiman and Kasim Khan aired during the lunch interval on the opening day of the match. The brothers discussed their father, who has been imprisoned for the past three years. Sarfaraz said the Pakistan squad was focused on lunch and its preparations to return to the field, rather than events surrounding the broadcast.

It is understood, according to the BBC, that the PCB raised the prospect of cancelling the Lord's Test and the rest of the three-match series if the interview was shown. The Guardian separately reported that the board made a formal complaint to Sky Sports and that the England and Wales Cricket Board was informed of the grievance. The ECB declined to comment to the Guardian.

A version of the interview was nevertheless broadcast, and Pakistan's players returned after the interval as scheduled. Play continued at Lord's. Sarfaraz's account indicates that any discussion between administrators over the broadcast did not involve the coaching staff or playing group at the time.

The dispute has unfolded in the middle of a three-Test series that forms part of the 2025-27 World Test Championship. The Pakistan Cricket Board's published schedule lists the first match at Headingley from August 19, the second at Lord's from August 27 and the final Test at Edgbaston beginning September 9.

Sarfaraz's comments separate the Pakistan team from a threat that remains based on reported discussions between governing bodies rather than a public announcement by the players. The confirmed sequence is that the PCB complained, the interview aired and the match continued. Neither Sarfaraz nor his squad had been told that their participation in the Test or the wider tour was in question, according to the coach's account.