The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) finds itself at the center of a major controversy as it faces backlash for the omission of former captain, Imran Khan, from a celebratory video commemorating Pakistan’s 77th Independence Day.
The exclusion of Imran Khan, an iconic figure both on the cricket field and in politics, has ignited a storm of criticism, with fans accusing the PCB of yielding to political pressure.
Imran Khan, a cricketing icon, led Pakistan to a historic victory in the 1992 ODI World Cup – an achievement that remains a cornerstone of the nation’s cricket history. Regarded as one of the finest cricketers in history, Khan’s omission from the tribute video has left supporters perplexed and disheartened.
Here is the video:
https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB/status/1691091543350771712
Passionate cricket fans on social media have condemned the PCB’s action, citing it as a form of political victimization. Many fans contend that the exclusion stems from the strained relations between Imran Khan and the government.
Imran Khan’s cricketing achievements are deeply etched in Pakistan’s cricketing history. As the sole Pakistani captain to lift the coveted ODI World Cup, Khan’s absence from the tribute video appears to have struck a nerve among admirers who view his cricketing achievements as integral to Pakistan’s sporting legacy.
Furthermore, the video also ignored the achievements of Pakistan’s women’s team. The video only displayed one achievement of the women’s team and that too only for a couple of seconds. The likes of Sana Mir, Bismah Maroof, and Kiran Baloch, who have been some of the best performers for Pakistan over the years, were also ignored in the video.
Pakistan’s remarkable milestone of becoming the number one Test team under Misbah-ul-Haq in 2016 also failed to feature in the World Cup while a 2-0 win over Sri Lanka in Tests and winning the emerging Asia Cup were included instead.
To add salt to the wounds of the Pakistan cricket fans, the video montage shows former PM Benazir Bhutto handing over the World Cup winners trophy to Sri Lanka in 1996 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, and Pakistan’s first captain, Abdul Hafeez Kardar sitting with former PM Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, which left the fans fuming as it had nothing to do with Pakistan cricket’s achievement but rather displayed a clear bias by Zaka Ashraf, who was appointed by the PPP.
Here are some of the reactions:
Reminiscing in Pakistan crickets history, 11 images of the 1992 World Cup win and not one pic or mention of the greatest that ever played the game for the country!
Imran Khan will go down in history as one of the greats of the global game!#PakistanCricket https://t.co/wKsvBgNZ3u
— Urooj Mumtaz Khan (@uroojmumtazkhan) August 14, 2023
Me: Lol, no way you can make a video celebrating Pak cricket without the greatest Pak cricketer ever.
Siri: Yeah no way.
PCB: Hold my Pakola. https://t.co/vo8L3iYn9i
— Osman Samiuddin (@OsmanSamiuddin) August 14, 2023
How can you not mention IK when talking about the history of Pakistan cricket? https://t.co/nZEFbjB94Z
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) August 14, 2023
Next time PCB tells BCCI to leave politics out of cricket, the BCCI won't need much to shut them up. This video will be enough. Kitna giro ge aur! https://t.co/3DG3D5cOWT
— Haroon Shahid (@Haroon_5hahid) August 14, 2023
1984. George Orwell https://t.co/NVnpVLYLsW pic.twitter.com/SrZRYxV1OI
— Roha Nadeem (@RohaNadym) August 14, 2023
Takes some special effort to get roasted on your own account by your own fans, on Independence day, celebrating your own greatest cricketing achievements.
But they've managed it with ease. https://t.co/w2QvX8fGGb— Danyal Rasool (@Danny61000) August 14, 2023
So 10 Clear pictures of 1992 World Cup win & all without the Captain 👏👏👏👏 https://t.co/NKdQbUa54S
— Abdul Ghaffar 🇵🇰 (@GhaffarDawnNews) August 14, 2023
Hein..? Where is the winning captain of the 92 WC in this short video..??
Hello Paayen @TheRealPCB !! https://t.co/YRddE2cmK0— Ajmal Jami (@ajmaljami) August 14, 2023
Stalinist. Imran Khan airbrushed from the history of Pakistan cricket. https://t.co/HtCaJPwLnM
— Peter Oborne (@OborneTweets) August 14, 2023
All the political differences with Imran Khan set aside, it is so low of PCB to not feature Imran Khan in this video. The guy won you the only WorldCup (50 overs) !! PCB is an autonomous body should be Apolitical. Shame !! https://t.co/gxO258d2Z8
— Faizan Khan (@Faizankhaan91) August 14, 2023
Diabolically shameful; omitting probably Pakistan’s greatest ever cricketer, expected Pakistan to be above petty politics especially since it constantly complains of political interference in other countries, PCB proving once again proving to be nothing but a puppet organisation. https://t.co/P1Lza2Tegj
— AmerCric 🏏 ✍️ (@Amermalik12) August 14, 2023
heyyyy PBC you may not act like it but you actually field TWO international teams <3 hope that helps https://t.co/eAI2HBPyyk
— rameen (@rameenwhile) August 14, 2023
Pettiness is having an entire segment on the 1992 WC win without showing a single picture of the man who led the team to glory.
Shameful by @TheRealPCB! https://t.co/keTBzXv1Jd
— Uzair Younus عُزیر یُونس (@UzairYounus) August 14, 2023
This is like if someone made a video celebrating the Argentina football team but didn’t include Maradona or Messi https://t.co/a9bM2vzwYy
— Ali Asad (@aliasad1998) August 14, 2023
2 things:
– Not a single mention of women's cricket throughout, way to tell us where they lie in your priorities.
– Erasure of Pak's greatest cricketer? https://t.co/fQmLf5W3LH— Assad (@CoverDriveCric) August 14, 2023
Is that one day maybe 25 March 1992? Or some other day? This day? https://t.co/alUa3x6ofe pic.twitter.com/GS2T83hZfA
— Zarrar Khuhro (@ZarrarKhuhro) August 14, 2023
This video has both Benazir and Zulfiqar Bhutto lmao. Well done Zaka Ashraf and @kalson! https://t.co/EaDMqHeaHc
— Ahmad Saleem (@Ahmad_Saleem) August 14, 2023
One of many gifts to Pakistan from the namalooms.
No doubt a Certified Youthia wrote this article.
Patwari and Nothia alert.
What does cricket have to do with PTI? Did’nt Imran win the 1992 WC? There was no PTI at that time.
PCB is hijacked by these users they don’t have guts. My best captain is him not even babar is on level of him sad from PCB
Ridiculous from PCB they also removed my favourite Muhammad asif. Asif is best bowler see what ab devilliers say about him. Salman butt deserves role in PCB enough of unjustice.
Hafiz is the original World Cup Winner!!