I didn’t even know the names of the ‘phateechar’ players: Imran Khan

Pakistan legend Imran Khan is in the news after a leaked video emerged of him terming international stars who agreed to play in the country despite security threats as “third-class” The remarks by the 64-year-old who were captured by a local journalist on a mobile phone went viral and sparked a furious backlash from many of Imran’s own supporters.

Khan, a critic of the Pakistan government, had opposed staging Sunday’s final in Lahore instead of the UAE where earlier matches were played, citing security reasons.

But he later congratulated the public on Twitter, for their participation and enthusiasm in a match hailed for unifying the country, that has not hosted a major national team since 2009 the Sri Lanka bus was attacked.

But speaking to party aides on Tuesday, he was seen criticizing the tournament and taking a dig at the nine foreign players who agreed to play even after the resurgence of violence in the country.

“I didn’t even know the names of the ‘phateechar’ players,” he said, using a derogatory term that means “third-class”, while others around laughed at him.

“I think they grabbed some people from Africa and others from elsewhere to claim that they were foreign players,” he added.

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But it seems that the foreign players did not have any complaints from the final which was held with utmost security. Darren Sammy, in fact, expressed his gratitude to Pakistan and said that cricket had finally won over politics.

“I have enjoyed playing a cricket match [in Lahore] and I have even enjoyed being with the security guys as I have never seen something like this before so it was a good experience. It is hopefully a step in the right direction, where things could happen. What I can say is that being here felt like playing in St Lucia, playing in India or anywhere else in the world. And like I said at the toss, today I felt cricket was the winner.”