Who is Sana Mir? Ex-Pakistan captain facing backlash over controversial commentary at Women's World Cup 2025

Mayank Bande

Who is Sana Mir? Ex-Pakistan captain facing backlash over controversial commentary at Women's World Cup 2025 image

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Sana Mir found herself on the receiving end of some scrutiny on Thursday, October 2, during her time in the commentary box in the first innings.

The incident occurred in the 29th over of Pakistan's batting, when they were 94/6 against Bangladesh in match 3 of the Women's World Cup in Colombo, as she referred to the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as 'Azaad Kashmir' [Independent Kashmir] during Natalia Parevez's introduction.

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Following the online backlash, she went on to explain her comments and assured there was no malice or political reference to it on her socials.

Who is Sana Mir?

Born on January 5, 1986, in Abbottabad, Mir is one of the prominent figures in Pakistan Women's cricket following her contribution for the national team from 2005 to 2008.

The 39-year-old served Pakistan as an off-spin bowler in 120 ODI matches and 106 T20I matches, picking 151 and 89 wickets respectively. She also scored 1630 ODI and 802 T20I runs lower down the order with the help of 3 fifties in the longer format.

MORE: Pakistan commentator Sana Mir justifies 'Kashmir' remark on Natalia Pervaiz during Women's World Cup 2025

Before retiring from all formats in 2019, at just 33, she had also become Pakistan's longest-serving captain in Women's cricket with 72 ODIs (26 W, 45 L, 1 NR) and 65 T20Is (26 W, 36 L, 2 T, 1 NR).

Since last playing cricket in 2023 in the FairBreak Invitational Tournament for Sapphires, she has been commentating on Pakistan matches and Women's ICC events.

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Mayank Bande

Mayank Bande has been a content producer at The Sporting News since 2023 and has extensive experience in cricket writing. His work has previously appeared on platforms like OneCricket and Last Word on Sports. Beyond cricket, Mayank closely follows football as an FC Barcelona supporter, along with tennis and Olympic sports. Despite holding a degree in Business Administration, he chose to pursue a career in sports, bringing sharp analysis to his writing as someone who once played cricket.