Former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad broke down while speaking about the imprisonment of his former teammate Imran Khan, making an emotional appeal for his release and insisting that the 1992 World Cup-winning captain was an honest man.
Miandad’s comments come amid renewed concerns over Imran’s health and treatment in prison. The 73-year-old former Pakistan prime minister has been held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since 2023 after being convicted on corruption charges.
Imran recently underwent a medical examination in Islamabad before being taken back to prison. His party has challenged the way the examination was carried out after Pakistan’s Supreme Court directed that he be taken to Shifa International Hospital and allowed access to doctors, including his personal physician.
Speaking in an interview with the Narrative YouTube channel, Miandad said he knew Imran well enough to be convinced of his integrity.
“He is an honest man. He is not someone who engages in corrupt practices, otherwise he would have done a lot of things,” Miandad said. “What will happen if you let him out? Will he eat or damage someone? He is also someone’s son. I always think about what he must be doing.”
Miandad said his opinion of Imran was based on the years they spent together playing for Pakistan and in county cricket. He questioned why the former captain was still in prison and urged those involved to sit together and find a solution.
He also rejected the suggestion that he and Imran had always been rivals. The two had disagreements during and after their playing careers, including over Pakistan cricket, but Miandad said they had always shared the same goal when they played for their country.
“We didn’t have any rivalry,” Miandad said, before stressing that whatever differences existed between them, they had played and fought for Pakistan.
Miandad’s comments came after Imran’s sons, Sulaiman and Kasim, spoke to former England captain Michael Atherton during Sky Sports’ coverage of the second Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s.
The brothers raised concerns over their father’s health and conditions in prison. Kasim alleged that Imran was being kept isolated for more than 23 hours a day and claimed that attempts were being made to kill him.
“It’s very, very clear what they’re doing, which are they’re just blatantly trying to kill him in there. They just want to keep him in there as long as possible and hopefully just silence him,” said Kasim.
“The last time he was able to speak to our aunties and anyone else, he said the conditions have severely worsened recently. He has been relating it to other political prisoners who have been killed or who have died in prison.
“Right now, it is worse than ever, completely isolating him more than 23 hours a day in a cell,” he added.
The interview, which was shown during the lunch break of the second Test at Lord’s, led to a formal complaint from the Pakistan Cricket Board to Sky Sports.
The PCB had objected to the interview before it was broadcast and, according to reports, even considered keeping Pakistan’s players off the field after lunch in protest.
Several former international captains, including Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, and Greg Chappell, have also called for proper medical treatment for Imran. Australia captain Pat Cummins has publicly called for the former Pakistan captain to be treated with dignity.
Imran remains one of Pakistan’s most famous cricketers. He led the country to their first and only men’s ODI World Cup title in 1992.
Miandad and Imran were key members of Pakistan’s team throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Their partnership was central to the team’s World Cup triumph in Australia.
In the final against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Pakistan were 24/2 when Imran and Miandad came together. They added 139 runs for the third wicket, with Imran scoring 72 and Miandad making 58.
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