Whenever India and Pakistan locked horns with each other, there have been controversies and nothing was different regarding teh game on October 24. Former Pakistan pacer, Waqar Younis sparked a fresh controversy on Tuesday, when he said on a Pakistani news channel that watching Pakistani wicket-keeper, Mohammad Rizwan offering namaz “in front of Hindus was very special to him”.
However, Waqar’s comments haven’t gone down well with the veteran Indian sports commentator Harsha Bhogle. He called the statement “dangerous” and said that the cricket world needed to be united and not divided by religion.
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Harsha Bhogle tweeted: “For a person of Waqar Younis’ stature to say that watching Rizwan offering namaz in front of Hindus was very special to him, is one of the most disappointing things I have heard. A lot of us try hard to play such things down and talk up sport and to hear this is terrible.”
For a person of Waqar Younis' stature to say that watching Rizwan offering namaz in front of Hindus was very special to him, is one of the most disappointing things I have heard. A lot of us try hard to play such things down and talk up sport and to hear this is terrible.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 26, 2021
“You would think that cricketers, as ambassadors of our game, would be a little more responsible. I am sure there will be an apology on the way from Waqar. We need to unite the cricket world, not divide it by religion,” he added.
You would think that cricketers, as ambassadors of our game, would be a little more responsible. I am sure there will be an apology on the way from Waqar. We need to unite the cricket world, not divide it by religion
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 26, 2021
“I really hope that a lot of genuine sports lovers in Pakistan are able to see the dangerous side to this statement and join in my disappointment. It makes it very difficult for sports lovers like us to try and tell people it is just sport, just a cricket match,” he added.
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Here is the video of Waqar Younis making those comments:
"Rizwan offered Namaz during #INDvPAK match in middle of Hindus was most satisfying thing Mashallah, even more than his batting"
– Waqar Younis & Shoaib Akhtar discusspic.twitter.com/ELTVJSTqh4
— Pakistan Untold (@pakistan_untold) October 26, 2021
Former Indian cricketers, Aakash Chopra, Wasim Jaffer, and Venkatesh Prasad came in support of Harsa Bhogle.
"Hinduon ke beech me khade hoke namaaz padi, that was very very special for me" – Waqar .
Takes jihadi mindset of another level to say this in a sport. What a shameful man.— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) October 26, 2021
Et tu, Waqar! 🤦
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 26, 2021
Absolutely vile and disgusting comments from Waqar Younis. #Shameful
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 27, 2021
A video of Mohammad Rizwan offering namaz during the drinks break of the match on Sunday went viral. Here is the video of the same:
Pakistan ke Khiladi Muhammad Rizwan khel ke medan me namaz ada karte hue masha Allah pic.twitter.com/UfTnOSr2Td
— Luqman Khan (@Luqman_Khan_Zai) October 25, 2021
Babar Azam and his men scripted history by registering a 10-wicket win over Virat Kohli’s India by 10 wickets in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 match in Dubai. Rizwan made an unbeaten 79, while Babar scored 68 not-out. Before this game, Pakistan had never won a World Cup match against India in any format since 1992.
In another video that went viral after the match, Pakistani commentator Bazid Khan can be heard saying: “Kufr to toot hi gaya” (translated by many as the non-believers have been finally destroyed), to which captain Babar Azam replied, “Yeh allah ka karm hai.”
Pakistani commentator said "Kuffar to toot hi gaya" (the non-believers has been been finally destroyed).
Babur in reply says, "Yeh allah ka karm hai" pic.twitter.com/FpQiKVFAu9
— Megh Updates🚨™ (@MeghUpdates1) October 24, 2021
