On 17th August, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released a promotional campaign video leading up to the Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2023. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), PCB said a previous video version had some important clips missing, and the new version has rectified the issue. PCB claimed it happened due to the length of the video. Interestingly, in the previous version of the video, the most influential Pakistani Cricket team captain and former PM Imran Khan was left out completely, leading to outrage over social media.
The PCB has launched a promotional campaign leading up to the CWC 2023. One of the videos was uploaded on 14th August 2023. Due to its length, the video was abridged and some important clips were missing. This has been rectified in the complete version of the video ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Rz2OBDyI9i
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 16, 2023
In its latest post, PCB wrote, “The PCB has launched a promotional campaign leading up to the CWC 2023. One of the videos was uploaded on 14th August 2023. Due to its length, the video was abridged, and some important clips were missing. This has been rectified in the complete version of the video.”
The new video was released after PCB faced severe backlash on the previous video. Fans and former Pakistani cricketers were baffled at the old video that has been removed from social media platforms. “Making history isn’t just about one day; it’s about the legends we create and the tales we script. Pakistan Cricket Team – a legacy that echoes through time,” was the caption for the video. Interestingly, PCB got its name written in the history with the video for the wrong reasons. Now-deleted post’s archive can be seen here.
Lashing out at PCB, former Pakistani Cricket Team captain Wasim Akram wrote, “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… 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.”
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… political differences apart but Imran Khan is an icon of world cricket and developed…
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) August 16, 2023
An X user Hina Abbasi even tagged the ICC and accused PCB of going against the spirit of sportsmanship by taking a political stance.
Dear @ICC , we kindly request your attention to address the issue regarding @TheRealPCBMedia & @TheRealPCB's political stance, which goes against the spirit of sportsmanship.
— Hina Abbasi (@illusionisthina) August 14, 2023
It is disheartening to witness such behavior against national heroes in the realm of gentlemen's sports…
X users from Pakistan trended #ShameOnPCB in view of the blunder made by the Pakistani Cricket Board.
Notably, PCB has subscribed to X Premium, which means they can upload longer than 2 minutes 20 seconds video, which is the limit for non-Premium X users. Despite possibly uploading longer videos, PCB decided to go for a shorter version without Imran Khan’s contribution to Pakistani Cricket.
Possibly, the decision to omit Imran Khan from the video is rooted in the political turmoil that has been happening in the neighbouring country. Imran Khan, who is facing multiple corruption charges and was removed from the post of Prime Minister last year after a no-confidence vote, has been the centre of controversies for a long time. Cricket and politics have a deep connection in Pakistan. Understandably, PCB would not want to anger the politicians running the country by adding Imran Khan in the video, but their “innocent” attempt to save themselves backfired.
