“There is no malicious in my heart …”: Sana Mir of Pakistan cleaned the air on her ‘Azad Kashmir’ comment during the Women’s World Cup 2025

Former Pakistan Women’s Cricket Captain Sana Mir, Now serving as a commentator ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025An explanation has been released after promoting the controversy during the Pakistan vs Bangladesh match in Colombo.

Describing Pakistan cricketer Natalia Parvas, Mir refers to him as a player “Kashmir plays a lot of cricket from Azad Kashmir, Lahore.” The phrase specifically criticized the Indian audience, who accused him of injecting politics in the World Cup broadcast by mentioning a competition area.

Sana Mir responds to criticism on ‘Azad Kashmir’ comment

After backlash, Mir released an official statement on her social media handle. He insisted that his comment was not political in nature, saying that:

“There was no malicious in my heart or there was no intention of hurting emotions.”

Mir explained that his words were to highlight the background and conflicts of Parvaz, as is common in international comments. He said that his research came from a cricket database like ESPNCRICINFO, which had listed the player’s birthplace at that time. “Azad Jammu and Kashmir.” According to Mir, his focus was to fully showcase the player’s journey, not a political statement.

Mir did not urge fans “Politizing it,” Ask the audience instead of appreciating the inspirational stories of sports, teams and players.

“It is unfortunate how things are being flown out of proportion and people in the game are being subjected to unnecessary pressure. It is sad that it requires clarification at the public level.

My comment about a Pakistan player’s hometown was only to come from a certain area in Pakistan and to highlight the challenges coming from his incredible journey. This is part of the story that we do as commentators where the players come from. I also did for two other players coming from other areas today. Please do not politicize it. As a commentator on the world feed, we are meant to focus on sports, teams and players, which highlight the inspirational stories of grit and perseverance. There is no malicious in my heart or there is an intention to hurt feelings.

I am also attaching the screen shot where I research most of my players, whether it is from Pakistan or any other country. I realize that they have changed it till now, but this is what I was referring to, “ He wrote on X.

It is unfortunate how things are being flown out of proportion and people in the game are being subjected to unnecessary pressure. It is sad that this requires clarification at the public level.

My comment about a Pakistan player’s hometown was only to highlight the challenges … pic.twitter.com/g722flj17c

– Sana Mir ثناء میر (@mir_sana05) October 2, 2025

However, this comment comes at a sensitive time, stress and cricketing encounters with India-Pakistan relations are already under heavy political investigation.

In view of the controversy, some voices on social media Demanded that ICC and BCCI remove Mir from the commentary panelSo far, neither the cricket body has released an official statement about its situation in the broadcast team of the tournament.

Also read: From Jesus Guha, Mithali Raj to Kas Naidu, Sana Mir: There is a Star-Staded Commentary Panel for Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025

Cricket vs. Politics: A familiar flashpoint

This episode highlights that cricket between India and Pakistan often becomes a flashpoint for political sentiment, even from the ground. Mir’s explanation attempts to focus on players and the World Cup itself, but the event reflects the fragile balance between sports comments and geopolitical sensitivity.

Also read: Women’s World Cup 2025 – BCCI India vs Pakistan clarifies the handshake policy amidst stress

This article was published for the first time Womencrick.comA Cricket Times Company.