Pakistan team banned from speaking English in conferences

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, March 12 (Reuters) - The Pakistan cricket team have been banned from speaking in English at World Cup news conferences to prevent players from being misquoted, according to a team spokesman.
Former player Pervez Mir, the team's press liaison officer during the World Cup, said at a captain's media day in Montego Bay on Sunday that Pakistan's players would speak only in Urdu, which would also help to promote tourism to Pakistan.
"This decision was taken by the Pakistan Cricket Board because it is our national language and because 2007 is our National Tourist Year so we are promoting Pakistan as well.
"This is the perfect platform to promote and expose our national language, so there's nothing more to it."
He added that a Pakistan player had been misquoted in Trinidad following the gas leak that led to the team being evacuated from their hotel earlier in the week.
"A journalist spoke to Danish Kaneria and asked him what he thought about the gas leak and he tried to play the incident down and said `It happens'.
"But when the report came out the journalist quoted him saying `It happens at home as well'
"So we would rather avoid these kinds of incidents and speak in Urdu at official times, as well as for reasons of promoting Pakistan."
Pakistan play West Indies in the World Cup opener at Sabina Park, Jamaica on Tuesday in Group D. Ireland and Zimbabwe complete the group.

Date: 12 March , 2007

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