The cricketing community witnessed a surprising oversight recently when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released a video celebrating pivotal moments in Pakistan cricket history, notably excluding the iconic Imran Khan from their 1992 World Cup victory segment.
The video, shared by PCB on August 14, highlighted the memorable achievements of Pakistani cricket, with the pinnacle being their World Cup victory 31 years ago. However, the clip, lasting two minutes and 21 seconds, noticeably omitted any footage of Imran Khan, the captain who steered the team to that very victory.
Wasim Akram, an instrumental figure in the 1992 triumph and a renowned fast bowler himself, did not hold back in expressing his disappointment over this glaring omission. Imran Khan, in addition to being his captain, was also Akram's fast bowling mentor.
Akram voiced his concern on Twitter, stating, “After long flights and hours of transit before reaching Sri Lanka, I got the shock of my life when I watched PCB’s short clip on the history of Pakistan cricket minus the great Imran Khan." He further stressed, “Political differences apart but Imran Khan is an icon of world cricket and developed Pakistan into a strong unit in his time and gave us a pathway…PCB should delete the video and apologise.”
Guided by Imran Khan's leadership, Pakistan clinched a triumphant victory against England in the final at MCG, securing their win by a margin of 22 runs. This remains Pakistan's sole triumph in the 50-over World Cup.
Following his illustrious cricket career, Imran Khan transitioned to the political arena, founding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in 1996. His political journey culminated in his election as Pakistan's Prime Minister in 2018. However, his tenure as Prime Minister concluded in April of the preceding year after a no-confidence motion led to his removal. Recently, on August 5, Imran Khan was arrested and is now incarcerated in connection with the Toshakhana case.
Meanwhile, besides Wasim Akram, former chairman of PCB Khalid Mahmood too lambasted PCB on ignoring Imran Khan in the commemorative video.
While slaming country's cricket board Khalid has called for the retraction of an Independence Day video by the PCB for ignoring legendary Imran Khan's contribution.
Mahmood voiced his concerns on the "Aaj" channel, stating, "This video must be withdrawn by the PCB immediately and released again with proper mention of Imran's contribution to Pakistan cricket."
Drawing a parallel, Mahmood recalled the controversy when the International Cricket Council (ICC) released a World Cup promo video, underrepresenting Babar Azam, which led to widespread criticism. "We should first look at ourselves as to what we are doing with our own heroes then criticise others," said Mahmood, who has occupied numerous significant roles within the board.
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