Picture Credit: X
The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 is underway in India and Sri Lanka. The host team, India Women won their maiden match in the tournament as they handed a defeat to Sri Lanka Women by 59 runs in Guwahati, Australia Women defeated New Zealand Women by 89 runs to begin their title defense. On Thursday, October 2, Bangladesh Women handed Pakistan Women a seven-wicket drubbing in Colombo.
While the defeat for the Women in Green was a hard pill to swallow, the match was marred with a fresh controversy. During the match three of the ICC Women’s CWC 2025, former Pakistan Women captain Sana Mir’s remarks about Natalia Pervaiz sparked a new controversy as she referred her as a player from “Azad Kashmir”.
Natalia comes from Azad Kahsmir: Sana Mir on live commentary during PAK W vs BAN W
Commentating in the match, the ex-captain remarked, “Yes, they have won the qualifiers, but a lot of these players are new. Natalia, who comes from Kashmir, Azad Kashmir, plays in Lahore, a lot of cricket. She has to come to Lahore to play most of her cricket there.” It is to be noted that 29-year-old Pervaiz hails from Bandala, which is in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), which is being referred as “Azad Kashmir.”
Watch video of this instance here:
Sana Mir, who recently became first women cricketer from Pakistan to be inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame, also claimed that Pervaiz plays a lot of her cricket in Lahore. However, later in the day, the former Pakistan captain issued a clarification on her remarks while stating that her comments were not political in nature but were simple facts.
Taking to X, in an elaborated post 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 the public level. My comment about a Pakistan player's hometown was only meant to highlight the challenges she faced coming from a certain region in Pakistan and her incredible journey.”
“It is part of the storytelling we do as commentators about 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,” she further added.
