(Image Source: Cricket Australia)
[Saba Sports News] Pakistan kicked off their preparation for the three-match Test series against Australia, facing the Prime Minister’s XI in a warm-up game at Manuka Oval, Canberra. The spotlight was on new captain Shan Masood who scored a century on the first day. However, attention shifted to Cricket Australia’s (CA) broadcast, which controversially displayed Pakistan’s short form as ‘PAKI’ instead of ‘PAK’. This term, considered derogatory, sparked social media backlash.
Australian journalist Daany Saeed highlighted the issue, criticizing the choice of abbreviation. “The choice to run with “PAKI” on the Fox ticker over the traditional “PAK” is…quite a choice.”
CA, upon realizing the mistake, quickly amended the graphic to ‘PAK’ and clarified that the error was due to an automatic feed from a new data provider, not previously used for Pakistan games.
“The graphic was an automatic feed from a data provider which had not been used previously for a Pakistan game. This was obviously regrettable, and the error we corrected manually as soon as it came to light,” shared CA in a statement.
On the field, Pakistan ended Day 1 at 324/6, with Masood’s unbeaten 156 leading the way, supported by Babar Azam and Sarfaraz Ahmed’s contributions.