“There is no wickedness in my heart …”: Sana Mir of Pakistan erases the air on her remark “Azad Cashmere” during the 2025 women’s world cup

Former Pakistani women’s cricket captain Healthy mir, now serving as a commentator at ODI World Cup for women ICC 2025expressed clarification after sparking controversy during the Pakistani match against Bangladesh in Colombo.

While describing the cricket player Pakistan Natalia Pervaiz, Mir described her as a player as a player “Since cashmere, the Azad Cashmere, has played a lot of crickets.” The sentence sparked a lively criticism, in particular Indian viewers, who accused her of having injected policy into the world cup disseminated by mentioning a disputed region.

Sana Mir responds to the criticisms of the remark of “Azad Cachemire”

After the counterou, Mir published an official declaration on his handles on social networks. She stressed that her remarks were not of a political nature, saying:

“There was no wickedness in my heart or any intention to hurt the feelings.”

MIR explained that his words were supposed to highlight the history and the struggles of Pervaiz, as well as current practice in international comments. She noted that her research came from cricket databases like Espncricinfo, which at the time listed the player’s birthplace as “Azad Jammu and Kashmir.” According to Mir, his goal was only to present the player’s journey, not to make a political declaration.

Mir urged fans not to be “Politize him”, Ask the viewers rather to appreciate the sport, the teams and the inspiring players of players.

“It is regrettable to see how things are breathtaking and the people of sport are subject to unnecessary pressure. It is sad that it requires an explanation on the public level.

My comment on the hometown of a Pakistani player was only intended to underline the challenges that she was faced with a certain region in Pakistan and her incredible trip. This is part of the story that realizes that we do as commentators as where players come from. I did it today for two other players from other regions too. Please do not politicize it. As a commentator on the world flow, we are supposed to focus on sport, teams and players, highlighting inspiring grain and perseverance stories. There is no malice in my heart or no intention to harm feelings.

I also attach the screenshot of the place where I am looking for most of my players, whether in Pakistan or any other country. I realize that they have changed it now, but that’s what I was referring to, “ She wrote on X.

It is regrettable to see how things are breathtaking and people of sport are subject to unnecessary pressure. It is sad that it requires an explanation on the public level.

My comment on the birthplace of a Pakistani player was only intended to highlight the challenges … pic.twitter.com/g722flj17c

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

However, the remark comes at a sensitive moment, the meetings of India-Pakistan are meetings and crickets already under political control.

In the wake of controversy, certain voices on social networks required that the ICC and the BCCI delete MIR from the comments panel. Currently, none of the Cricket Body has published an official declaration concerning its position in the tournament broadcast team.

Read also: From Isa Guha, Mithali Raj to Kass Naidoo, Sana Mir: Here is the panel of starry comments for the 2025 women’s cricket World Cup

Cricket vs politics: a familiar flashpoint

The episode underlines how cricket between India and Pakistan often becomes a flash point for political feeling, even out of the field. MIR clarification tries to bring attention to players and the World Cup itself, but the incident reflects the delicate balance between sports comments and geopolitical sensitivities.

Read also: Women’s World Cup 2025 – BCCI clarifies handle policy in the middle of India vs Pakistan Tensions

This article was published for the first time on Womecriccket.com, a Times cricket company.