Pakistan cricket legend and the country’s former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, continues to draw attention from the global cricketing fraternity. Twenty-one international captains recently wrote to the Pakistan government, urging better treatment of Imran Khan, who has been in prison since 2023. Now, one of the greatest pacers of all time, Michael Holding, has joined the bandwagon in support of the jailed former Pakistan cricket team captain. While Holding, a West Indies cricket legend, is wary of the politics behind the imprisonment, he didn’t shy away from speaking highly of the person Imran Khan is.
Holding and Imran didn’t play a lot of matches against each other in international cricket, but they did spend quality time in each other’s company. Holding highlighted that when Imran was in London to raise funds for a cancer hospital, he accompanied him. This was when he came to know deeply who the person is.
“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. It has 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. I played county cricket, a few games against Imran, but apart from playing with Imran, I have spent time with Imran,” Holding said during a chat with Sports Now.
“When Imran was going around London looking to garner funds for that cancer hospital, I went around with him, I tried to support him as best as I possibly could, where that was concerned. So I know the man, and I know exactly what type of person that he is. And it’s extremely sad to see the situation now and what is going on with Imran Khan,” the 72-year-old recalled.
Recently, during Pakistan’s tour of England, an interview featured Imran Khan’s sons where they spoke about how much the health of the former cricketer has deteriorated in prison. The two sons even alleged that the Pakistan government isn’t allowing them to meet their father, while also denying treatment in a private hospital. This worsening condition has seen former international captains write two letters to the Pakistan government, urging intervention and better treatment.
#PAKWatch🇵🇰: Today, THOUSANDS took to the streets of Lahore to DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF IMRAN KHAN.
PAK = MILITARY RUNS THE SHOW = 3RD WORLD.
FREE IMRAN KHAN. pic.twitter.com/3kDQNmWL4b
— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) September 15, 2026
Holding also extended support to the letter. Targeting the Pakistan government, Holding expressed disappointment at the way Imran is being treated.
“I am in total support of the captains who wrote that letter. I don’t know what effect it will have, but I am in total support of trying to get the man to be treated just like another human being. You don’t treat human beings that way. People who have committed murder aren’t treated that way. So I don’t see the reason why this man should be treated that way,” Holding said.
“I don’t know if there’s jealousy involved in this, because Imran Khan. I don’t think there’s a Pakistani who is more well-known around the world than Imran Khan. That is ridiculous, the way the man is being treated,” he added.
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