Pakistan (Commonwealth) _ Pakistan began their preparations for the three-match Test series against Australia on Wednesday, December 06, when they faced the Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval in Canberra. Shan Masood, their newly chosen captain, produced a stunning century on Day 1 of the warm-up match.
However, it wasn’t Masood’s century that made headlines, but Pakistan’s abbreviated form on the scoreboard screen during the game’s live broadcast. Notably, the image referred to Pakistan as ‘PAKI’ rather than the more common PAK.
Screenshots of the game’s live broadcast went viral on social media, with supporters accusing Cricket Australia (CA) of employing a slur against Pakistan. The term P*** is a pejorative used to refer to individuals from the whole Indian subcontinent, not only Pakistan. It is considered disparaging in many regions of the world, and the Oxford Dictionary characterizes it as ‘offensive’.
The matter was raised by Australian journalist Daany Saeed, who took a screenshot of the live broadcast on his X account with the comment “The choice to run with “PAKI” on the Fox ticker over the traditional “PAK” is…quite a choice.”
As soon as CA became aware of the problem, they corrected the broadcast error and altered Pakistan’s abbreviation to ‘PAK,’ as well as issuing a statement claiming that the image was created by an automated feed.
The graphic was generated automatically by a data supplier and has never been used before in a Pakistan game. This was clearly disappointing, and the error was manually remedied as soon as it was discovered, according to CA in a statement.
Cricket Australia stated that a mistake on their live score ticker resulted in the display of a racial word during Pakistan’s visit match in Canberra.
Pakistan will play three Test matches in Australia as part of the 2023-25 World Test Championship and the Benaud-Qadir Trophy. They are playing a tour game against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval in Canberra before of the series.
Shan Masood, Pakistan’s new captain, won the toss and chose to bat, with Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq opening the batting. Masood Ali, the new captain of Pakistan, blasted an unbeaten 156 in a warm-up match against Australia in Canberra on Wednesday.
He came to the crease when opener Imam-ul-Haq was removed for nine after winning the toss and electing to bat against a Prime Minister’s XI.
The game was broadcast live on television. On the live scoreboard, the host team was denoted by PMXI, whereas the visitors were denoted by an I after the regularly used PAK.
This sparked outrage, with the four-letter epithet P*** becoming a slur for individuals of Indian heritage from all over the subcontinent, not just Pakistan. It is considered disparaging in many regions of the world, and the Oxford Dictionary characterizes it as ‘offensive’.
Cricket Australia updated the display to ‘PAK’ and also made a swift statement apologizing for the issue. What makes the term ‘Paki’ objectionable and racist? There is no one response since it is dependent on individual ethics, morals, and knowledge of pluralism.
Some may claim that the name “Paki” is oppressive since it is used derogatorily to refer to Pakistanis. Others may argue that the phrase is neither offensive nor racist because it simply refers to someone born in Pakistan. Others may argue that the phrase is neither repressive nor racist, but rather insulting since it evokes a caricature of Pakistanis as unclean and primitive.
Why are shorter forms of some nationalities OK to use (Aussie, Brit, etc.) but not others (Paki, Jap)? In the United Kingdom, the word is considered a derogatory slur directed against persons of South Asian heritage.
