Pakistani sports news presenter Zainab Abbas, one of the members of the broadcasting teams covering the ICC World Cup in India, left the country in between her tour.
Abbas, who was covering Pakistan's opening match against Netherlands on October 5 at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, left the country after she received backlash regarding some tweets she made, according to reports.
Abbas arrived in Hyderabad last week and was supposed to travel with the team to all cities where the matches are scheduled to be held.
Posts from an unverified X account (formerly Twitter) had earlier surfaced viral on the internet after the Pakistani sports news presenter Zainab Abbas announced covering the ICC mega event in India. Netizens after aggressively dissing the reporter claimed that the journalist had been deported, however, an ICC board member clarified that the journalist left India for "personal reasons."
Pakistan World Cup Presenter Leaves India After Backlash
As Abbas announced her participation in the Cricket ODI World Cup 2023 held in India, posts from an unverified X account (formerly Twitter) went viral on the internet claiming tweets to be anti-India and anti-Hindu. However, the International Cricket Council clarified that the 35-year-old journalist has not been deported by the host country but has left due to some "personal reasons." An ICC spokesperson told Press Trust of India.
Zainab Abbas Breaks Silence On Leaving India After Backlash:
As speculation intensified on social media since the Pakistan Presenter departed from India, for the first time since Abbas's departure she broke the silence on the matter.
Abbas took it to her X account (formerly known as Twitter) expressing how she has always felt grateful and extremely fortunate to travel and present the sport that she loved and how "this one would have been extra special."
Abbas also cleared that neither she was deported nor was asked to leave the country in between the ongoing World Cup 2023 held in India. She also shared her brief experience in India and expressed how she was just intimidated and scared by the reactions online and needed some space and time to process what had "transpired".
She also apologised and clarified about the older Tweets that have been surfacing online in her statement.
Who Is Zainab Abbas?
35-year-old journalist, Zainab Abbas is a Pakistani television host, sports presenter, commentator, and former makeup artist. She was born in Lahore, Pakistan, on February 14, 1988. She began her career as a makeup artist but later transitioned into journalism.
Hailing from a family deeply connected to cricket and politics as her father Nasir Abbas was a former domestic cricket player and her mother was a senior member of a Pakistani political party Tehreek-e-Insaaf, Abbas's passion for sports and politics grew from an early age.
Abbas studied at Aston University in Birmingham, England, and holds an MBA degree in Marketing and Strategy from the University of Warwick in Coventry. Abbas worked with Dolce Gabbana at Harrods in London for two years before her big break.
As Abbas auditioned to appear as a guest speaker on Pakistan's renowned news channel Dunya News during the times of World Cup 2015, she began her career as a sports journalist. She gained international recognition soon after as she covered BBC's test match in 2016's Pakistan tour in England.
Zainab broke barriers becoming the first woman presenter from Pakistan to cover the 2019 World Cup in Pakistan.
Abbas is a pioneer for women in sports journalism in Pakistan. She is one of the country's few female sports presenters and commentators. She is also been praised for her knowledge of the game and her ability to connect with her audience.
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