‘Please don’t politicise it’: Sana Mir responds to Indian backlash over commentary during Women’s World Cup

DUBAI (Agencies): Former women’s captain Sana Mir has issued a statement after receiving backlash from neighbouring India over saying that one of the Pakistan players included in the team for the Women’s World Cup belonged to Azad Kashmir, saying that things were being “blown out of proportion” and calling for it to not be politicised. The Women’s World Cup is officially being hosted by India while Pakistan are playing their matches in Colombo as per a hybrid model. Mir is part of the ICC’s commentary panel for the Women’s World Cup. During Pakistan’s match against Bangladesh on Thursday, which the Green Team lost, Mir had stated the following about Pakistan player Natalia Pervaiz: “A lot of these players are new, Natalia — who comes from Kashmir, Azad Kashmir — play in Lahore […]. She has to come to Lahore to play most of her cricket there.” According to Times of India, the remark immediately drew reactions across social media, with Indian fans tagging the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) demanding her removal for “allegedly politicising the broadcast”. “What caught even more attention was that Mir initially said ‘Kashmir’, before correcting herself to say ‘Azad Kashmir’,” Hindustan Times reported.

Subsequently, in a statement posted on X, Mir — who in June became the first female cricketer in Pakistan to be inducted into the ICC’s Hall of Fame — said: “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.” Without taking any names, she said that her comments 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,” she added.  “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,” she said. Along with her post, Mir also shared an image of Pervaiz’s ESPNCricinfo profile which showed her hometown as Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Currently, the page shows her hometown as “Pakistan-administered Kashmir”.

“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,” Mir said in her statement. The development comes days after tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad spilled over onto the cricketing field during the Sept 9-28 Men’s Asia Cup staged in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), when Indian cricketers refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts during all three clashes in the tournament. The tensions had culminated in India not accepting the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief. The tournament had seen the first cricket matches between the two sides since the military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May after India had launched air strikes in Pakistan over the Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir. Pakistan had denied involvement, and the crisis eased following US intervention.