ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has said that his recent remarks about foreign cricketers who played the Pakistan Super League final in Lahore were not meant to humiliate them, as they were all ‘pure cricketing terms’ of his time.
The remarks by the 64-year-old former Pakistan Test captain who now leads a major political party were captured by a local journalist on a mobile phone and uploaded online, where it sparked a furious backlash including from many of his own supporters.
Speaking to party aides on Tuesday, he poked fun at the nine foreign players who agreed to play in the PSL final in Lahore.
“I didn’t even know the names of the ‘phateechar’ players,” he said, using a derogatory term that roughly translates as “third-class” or “useless”, while others around him laughed. “I think they grabbed some people from Africa and others from elsewhere to claim that they were foreign players,” he added.
But, speaking on Geo News program ‘Capital Talk’ with anchorperson Hamid Mir on Tuesday, Khan doubled down on his position, denying having used derogatory or racist lingos.
“We used the terms like Relu Katta, Fokker or Jet to describe cricketers, when we used to play at Lahore Gymkhana,” he said.
“We referred Relu Katta to a player who would both bowl and bat, but would not perform either way. These terms are not derogatory, they rather describe marginal players,” he explained.
Asked about comments being relayed by Indian media as ‘racist’, Khan outrightly denied it saying, “I have always fought against racism. I and Viv Richards always refused to play counties, where there racism existed”.
Questioned about his opposition to hosting of PSL final in Lahore in contrast with his earlier stance on the event, the skipper said: “The situation before February 21 was different which is why I supported the idea of hosting the PSL final in Lahore, but the series of terror attacks in the country made me oppose the same thing.
“Had there been even a firecracker boom anywhere in Lahore, it would have buried international cricket in Pakistan.”
Imran Khan argued will foreign teams come to Pakistan only by having witnessed the PSL final being played in Lahore. “They want peace in Pakistan to play cricket here, not just hosting of a final.”
He contended that when a match is played under such stringent security, then it indirectly alarms the world that there is danger here.
The former Pakistan captain also said that most of the overseas players in the PSL were not world-class cricketers.
Although appreciating Chris Gayle and Kevin Pietersen, he stopped short of honouring Darren Sammy – who also happened to be the captain of PSL 2017 winners Peshawar Zalmi – along with them.
“Sammy captained Peshawar; he is popular, but he does not have the class of top-level athletes,” he said, adding the term ‘phateecher’ was not meant for Darren Sammy at all.
“Had Chris Gayle come, had Kevin Pietersen come, I would have said they were big international stars.”
Asked will Peshawar host matches if PSL 2018 is held in Pakistan next year, he said they will welcome and make all arrangements for hosting the matches.
“I have been calling for regional cricket for 40 years. It is very important. The departmental cricket should be ended and six regional teams be made instead to boost the game.
“We have constructed 70 grounds and state-of-the-art stadiums in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and will make all arrangements to host the matches,” Khan said.
