'Delete it, apologise': Wasim Akram blasts PCB for blacking out Imran Khan from video on Pakistan's cricket history

Former Pakistan cricket captain Wasim Akram on Wednesday slammed the country's cricket governing body for not including Imran Khan's picture in a video released on Tuesday. He asked the cricket board to delete the video and apologise to the nation. 

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) shared the video on the country's Independence Day, August 14. "Making history isn't just about one day, it's about the legends we create and the tales we script," the board said while sharing the two-minute clip.

The video captured almost all the high moments in the country's cricket history, which began in 1951 when Pakistan's cricket team made its international debut. After Pakistan's Asia Cup win against India in 1989, the video shows the next historic win of 1992, when the Men in Green lifted the World Cup. The video includes some pictures from the World Cup winning celebrations. In one shot, Wasim Akram can be seen with Javed Miandad. However, Imran Khan, the then-captain who led the Pakistan team to their only World Cup triumph, was missing from any of the shots taken in the video.  

The PCB's video did not go down well with Wasim Akram, who was part of the World Cup-winning team. The former pacer said he got the shock of his life when he watched the 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," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Arsalan Khan, a social media user, said praised Akram for taking a stand and speaking against the PCB. "Wasim bhai, you were great not only because of your skills but more because of your bravery on the field just like Imran Khan. This tweet of yours is another reason why you will be considered a legend against minnows who are selling their souls for petty benefits. A big man without an office is a thousand times better than a small man in a big office. Hope they are listening," he wrote.

Ali Muhammad Khan, former state minister, too blasted the cricket board for "bias" and said he was sad to see the complete "blackout of Imran Khan from official video on Pakistan cricket's greatest triumphs". "IMRAN KHAN is The Greatest All Rounder of the world of all time & the greatest Captain of cricketing history," he said.

Imran Khan has been at odds with the establishment and is currently facing a jail term in connection with a corruption case. He was removed from the prime minister's post after a power tussle with then Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.