Sana Mir hits back to Indian call to remove it from comment

Former Pakistani women’s captain Sana Mir responded to criticism by India fans after her observations during the ongoing World Women’s World Cup, urging everyone not to politicize the issue.

Mir, who is part of the ICC commentary committee, came under fire after saying during Pakistan’s match against Bangladesh that Batter Natalia Pervaiz comes from “Kashmir, Azad Kashmir” and plays most of her cricket in Lahore. The comment immediately struck the reactions to the Indian social media, with some fans pointing out the ICC and the BCCI, accusing MIR of “politicizing the broadcast” and demanding it to be removed.

“What made even more attention was that Mir initially said ‘cashmere’ before being corrected to say ‘Azad Cashmir’, the Indian media said.

Treating the matter in a statement published in X, Mir said the incident was launched in proportion.

“It is unfortunate how things are launched in ratio and people in sports are undergoing unnecessary pressure. It is sad that this requires an explanation publicly,” he wrote.

Mir explained that her comments were meant to only point Pervaiz’s journey as a player and the challenges she faced from a particular area to Pakistan.

“It’s part of the narrative we make as commentators like where the players come from. I did it today for two other players coming from other areas.

The former governor, who in June became the first Pakistani woman to be introduced into the ICC fame room, added that her focus as a commentator was in the exchange of inspired stories of sand and perseverance.

“As a commentator about world feed, we intend to focus on sport, teams and players, underlining the inspirational stories of sand and perseverance. There is no malice in my heart or any intention to harm emotions,” Mir said.

To support her observations, she also shared a screenshot of Natalia Pervaiz’s Espncricinfo profile, which at that time referred to her home as Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The page has been updated since then in “Kashmir Pakistan”.

“I also connect the screen plan where I research most of my players, either from Pakistan or any other country, I realize that they have changed it so far, but that’s what I’m referring to,” he said.

The controversy comes amid increased tensions between India and Pakistan, which have recently been poured into the cricket field.