Presenter-commentator Zainab Abbas explained why she left India midway through the 2023 World Cup, leaving her commentary stint unfinished.
The Pakistan cricket team returned to India for the first time since the 2016 T20 World Cup. They received a warm welcome in Hyderabad, where they played four matches, including two warm-up games.
After their Hyderabad leg of the world Cup finished, Pakistan captain Babar Azam gifted his jersey to the ground staff.
As well as the cricketers, Pakistan commentators also arrived in India for the World Cup. Apart from former captains, Waqar Younis and Ramiz Raja, there was also Zainab Abbas, one of Pakistan’s most renowned commentator-presenters.
In 2019, Abbas became the first Pakistani woman to cover the World Cup. She has been a regular feature at various cricket tournaments around the world. She confirmed her stint for the 2023 World Cup on October 2.
There was always intrigue on what lies on the other side, more cultural similarities than differences, rivals on the field but camaraderie off the field, the same language & love for art & a country with a billion people, here to represent, to create content & bring in expertise… pic.twitter.com/dvoRUASpmm
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) October 2, 2023
Soon after the announcement, some users resurfaced some of Abbas’s old posts on X (formerly Twitter). A week later, unconfirmed rumours of the Indian government deporting her surfaced.
In a post on October 12, Abbas clarified that she had indeed left India, though she had neither been asked to leave, nor was she deported. She had, instead, “felt intimidated and scared by the reaction that surfaced online.”
Abbas also regretted “the hurt caused by the posts that were circulated,” and added that they neither represent her values nor who she is today. “There is no excuse or space for such language, and I sincerely apologise to anyone who was offended,” she concluded.
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) October 12, 2023
Pakistan have won both their matches at the World Cup so far, against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, and are fourth on the points table. They next face third-placed India, who have beaten Australia and Afghanistan, at Ahmedabad on October 14.
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