Michael Holding and Imran Khan (Agency Image)
Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding has joined the growing list of cricketing figures calling for better treatment of former Pakistan captain Imran Khan , saying the imprisoned 1992 World Cup winner should be treated “just like another human being”. Holding, who played alongside and against Imran during their international careers, said the situation involving the former Pakistan captain was deeply upsetting. I played county cricket, a few games against Imran, but apart from playing with Imran, I have spent time with Imran,” Holding told Sports Now. Holding said he fully supported the captains who had written to the Pakistan Prime Minister and questioned why Imran should be treated differently from other prisoners. So I don’t see the reason why this man should be treated that way,” Holding said.
“I’ll mention one name, Imran Khan, but you probably don’t want to go down the political route, and I don’t want to either, but that’s a sad story. become one of the former Pakistan captain’s defining legacies. I played with Imran, I wouldn’t say I played a lot. I played some one-day games with him. The former fast bowler recalled his association with Imran away from cricket as well. He remembered accompanying him in London when the former Pakistan captain was raising funds for his cancer hospital.
The PCB subsequently threatened to pull out of the fixture, but Sky Sports went ahead and broadcast the 18-minute interview. The controversy surrounding Imran’s prison conditions had already spilled into the cricketing world after Michael Atherton interviewed his sons, Sulaiman and Kasim, on the sidelines of the Lord’s Test between England and Pakistan.