Published: Mar 07, 2017, 09:02 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 07, 2017, 09:02 PM (IST)
Pakistan’s World Cup-winning captain and a prominent politician, Imran Khan has landed himself in a controversy after referring to the overseas players who travelled to Lahore for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final as ‘Phateechar’ (low grade). Imran even said that barring a couple of players, he did not even know anyone’s name. Imran, who led Pakistan to World Cup victory in 1992, is a staunch opponent of the ruling Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He had been, since the beginning, opposing the idea of hosting the PSL final in Lahore, calling it “high security risk” and “madness.” Imran, who is the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, suggested that barring one or two, the foreign players were over the hill and unpopular.
The video of the press conference where Imran made these foul and racist comments went viral on social networking sites recently. In the video, Imran can be seen saying, “I don’t even know the name of any of these so-called foreign players. It seems they just picked up ‘phateechar’ players from wherever,” adding, “With this much security, you can stage a match anywhere in the world, even in Syria.”
On PSL final: ‘Phateechar’ players, kisi ko Africa se pakar laey — Imran Khan, the gift that keeps on giving. pic.twitter.com/J3cOoXDKtA
— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) March 6, 2017
It is notable here that from the foreign players who went to Lahore, only Chris Jordan (England) and Elton Chigumbura (Zimbabwe) are a part of their respective national teams currently. While Peshawar Zalmi captain, two-time World T20 winning captain Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels were amongst the most popular faces to travel to terror-torn Pakistan, the fact remains that they are no longer considered by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for selection. Other players, namely Dawid Malan of Peshawar Zalmi and Morne van Wyk, Rayad Emrit, Anamul Hoque and Sean Ervin of Quetta Gladiators also are not a part of their national teams.
Imran had earlier criticised staging of the final in Lahore, calling it “madness”. His comments have sparked a heated debate on the social networking sites between his supporters and detractors.
