Women's World Cup 2025: Sana Mir stirs controversy ahead of India vs Pakistan clash
The confidence of a fraternity is generally directly proportional to the performance of its team. However, the Pakistan fraternity seems less concerned about their team's run in multi-nation tournaments and more focused on extending their bigoted political views. After wrapping up a controversial Asia Cup 2025, where the men's team suffered a 3-0 sweep against India, the focus now shifts to the Women's World Cup 2025. Before tackling the arch-rivals in Sri Lanka, Pakistan Women suffered a humiliating defeat against Bangladesh in the campaign opener. However, the team's sub-par start to the tournament did not stop Sana Mir from stirring a controversy ahead of the India vs Pakistan clash.
Sana Mir issues clarification on her 'Azaad Kashmir' comments ahead of India vs Pakistan Women's World Cup 2025 clash
Former Pakistan cricketer Sana Mir was in the commentary box while the Pakistan Women team faced Bangladesh Women in the Women's World Cup campaign opener. While credited as a distinguished orator, Mir seemed swayed by the recent political tension surrounding the India vs Pakistan row. The flames that emerged during the Men's Asia Cup 2025 are still fresh, with the Men in Blue still awaiting the trophy despite winning the tournament.
Meanwhile, as the row continues, Sana Mir sparked a separate controversy while commentating on the Pakistan vs Bangladesh Women's World Cup game. Introducing Natalia Pervaiz, Mir mentioned that the bowler hailed from Kashmir. The introduction was plain and informational about Pervaiz's background until Mir decided to specify the details. Returning to her original comments, Mir quickly added "Azaad" to Kashmir. For the unversed, Pakistan refers to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as "Azaad Kashmir." With all the tensions between the neighbours stemming from their stance on Kashmir, Mir's needless specification irked many.
"Natalia, who comes from Kashmir, Azad Kashmir, plays a lot of cricket in Lahore. She has to come to Lahore to play most of her cricket there,” she said on the official broadcast.
Within minutes of Mir's comment surfacing online, the clip spread rapidly across social media platforms. A large number of fans went on to tag the ICC and its chairman, Jay Shah, demanding that Sana Mir be taken off the commentary team for the flagship women’s tournament. As the debate around her words kept growing louder, the former Pakistan captain eventually chose to respond. Addressing the matter on X, the 39-year-old clarified that her statement had been misinterpreted and exaggerated, stressing that she never intended to make any political comment.
“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,” wrote Sana Mir. "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,” she added.
Mir further appealed to cricket followers across the globe to shift their attention back to the game itself. She underlined that there was “no malice in her heart” and reiterated that she had no desire to offend or upset anyone with her commentary during the Women's World Cup fixture. Furthermore, Mir went on to showcase Natalia's profile as listed on ESPNcricinfo, which mentioned the player's origin as ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir.’
“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,” wrote Mir. “I am also attaching the screenshot 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,” she added.
Turning to the Women's World Cup 2025 game in question, Bangladesh Women comfortably defeated Pakistan by seven wickets. Relations between the two cricketing nations have remained tense following the Pahalgam terror attack in April. In the backdrop of the recent bloodshed, the Indian Men's team took a bold stance against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025.
The Indian men’s team not only refused to shake hands with the Pakistan players in the Asia Cup 2025 but also declined to accept the trophy and medals from Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi, who simultaneously holds a senior role within the Pakistani government. In line with the precedent set by the men’s side, the India Women team is now also expected to adopt the same stance in the group-stage India vs Pakistan encounter of the Women’s World Cup on Sunday, October 5.
