New Delhi: The hasty departure of Pakistani sports presenter Zainab Abbas, who had come to India to cover the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, has sparked deportation rumours. Four days after a Delhi lawyer filed a police complaint over her past tweets ostensibly mocking Hinduism and India, Abbas left Hyderabad on Monday for her home in Lahore. An International Cricket Council spokesperson told Pakistani TV channels that Abbas left India for personal reasons.
However, a few Pakistani sports commentators are of the view that she left out of concerns for her safety. Over the past few days, nearly ten-year-old tweets allegedly from Abbas’ now defunct X (formerly Twitter) handle has resurfaced. One old tweet from 2014 pokes fun at vegetarians and says it could be the reason why India doesn’t have a fast bowler. There is no proof that she tweeted these posts.
But Indian lawyer Vineet Jindal approached the police seeking a removal of her as presenter for her ‘derogatory and provocative posts against Bharat and Hindu Dharma.’ “Anti Bharat people are not welcome in Bharat,” he tweeted.
Since then, her Instagram and X accounts have been flooded with hate comments. Pakistani journalist Rizwan Ghilzai said that she took a ‘safe exit’ from India as she had been facing threats.
Who is Zainab Abbas?
Abbas, who lives in Lahore, belong to a family of cricketers and politicians. Her father was a domestic cricketer, while her mother is a senior member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. She had come to India as one of the ICC presenters for the ongoing Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Abbas has not commented on her departure on social media or the hate messages she has been receiving online. In her more recent posts on Instagram and X, she said she was humbled and happy to be in India. She was excited about visiting India and joining a star-studded line-up of commentators and presenters. She had put up videos on her social media talking about Hyderabad and its culture.
“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 from the best in the business,” she tweeted.
As the first female sports correspondent and commentator to cover the 2019 ICC World Cup from Pakistan, Abbas has a fan following of over 8 lakh followers on Instagram and 22 lakh on her active and verified X account. She made her debut on Sky Sports as part of the broadcasting crew for the premiere season of The Hundred in July 2021, becoming the first Pakistani female presenter to accomplish this feat.
(Edited by Prashant)