Former Pakistan captain Sana Mir’s remarks about “Azad Kashmir” sparked a huge uproar.
Many people wanted her removed from the commentary panel, but the ICC did not take any strict action.
She remains on the commentary team for the India-Pakistan Women’s World Cup match, which is taking place in Colombo, where tensions are high.
How did the controversy begin?
Sana Mir, while commentating during Pakistan’s match against Bangladesh, spoke about batsman Natalia Pervez.
She said that Natalia was born in a small town in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and has to travel to Lahore to play cricket.
Indians did not like this statement, calling it propaganda. There was a lot of uproar on social media.
Sana later clarified on her Social Media account.
She wrote, It’s unfortunate how things are being blown out of proportion and people in sports are being subjected to unnecessary pressure. It is sad that this requires an explanation at public level.
My comment about a Pakistan player’s hometown was only meant to highlight the challenges she faced of coming from a certain region in Pakistan and her incredible journey. It is part of the story telling we do as commentators as where the players come from.
I did that today for two other players coming from other regions, too. Please don’t politicise it. As a commentator on the World Feed, we are meant to focus on the sport, teams, and players, highlighting inspiring stories of grit and perseverance. There is no malice in my heart or any intention to hurt sentiments.
I am also attaching the screen shot of where I research most of my players from, whether from Pakistan or any other country. I realise that they have changed it by now, but this is what I was referring to.
Meaning, her intention was only to tell the player’s background story, not politics. But the criticism continued, and people continued to demand her removal from the panel.
Nevertheless, the ICC retained Sana. A screenshot of her on Star Sports went viral, where she was discussing the match with former Indian captain Mithali Raj after the toss. This shows that she remained a part of the team.
Pakistan’s performance in the match
As soon as the match started, Pakistani captain Fatima Sana performed brilliantly. India’s opening batsman Smriti Mandhana was in form, but was dismissed by Fatima’s bowling after scoring just 23 runs in 32 balls.
She was caught right in front of the wicket. Smriti had scored only 8 runs in India’s first match against Sri Lanka, but here she seemed to be in good form.
The battle between India and Pakistan has always been a tough one, but the statistics show India’s dominance.
