Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif once again spoke out in support of fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who was subjected to online trolls, abuses, and threats on various social media after Team India’s dominating loss against Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Kaif said targeting Shami for his faith and asking him to leave the country for being a Muslim was “uncalled-for and unpardonable” in his opinion after the men in blue suffered their maiden loss in a World Cup game against Pakistan.
In his column for India.com, Mohammad Kaif said, “I have been witnessing how Mohammad Shami was trolled after the game against Pakistan. I have played enough cricket to understand that the fans do get angry when their team loses a game by a big margin. A batsman getting out for zero or a bowler getting hit for a six will always face abuse be it in a World Cup clash against Pakistan or an under-arm gully cricket game.”
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He further elaborated, “But targeting someone for his or her faith, asking them to leave the country is uncalled-for and unpardonable. Just imagine how a player, who for all his life has sacrificed everything to earn an India cap, would be feeling. But Shami, I know, is a tough cricketer. I can tell him from my experience, we have much more genuine fans in our country who give us unconditional love and they can easily outnumber the trolls on social media.”
Mohammad Kaif was also pained to see former cricketers from India and Pakistan engage in an ugly war of words on social media. Apart from that, a lot of stalwarts were seen having discussions on news channels after the high-profile clash in Dubai.
Kaif was referring to the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Mohammad Amir, and Waqar Younis, who have been making controversial statements since last Sunday.
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Mohammad Kaif described, “In this backdrop, it is painful to see the ugly spats between former players and the very disappointing behaviors of the fans on social media.”
