A video that’s gone viral on social media has got two India pacers – Mohammed Siraj and Umran Malik – in the firing line of a section of Indians. In the video, Siraj and Umran refused the application of tilak on their forehead, and this has irked some fans who have questioned both the pacers.
This video seems of the time when India were taking on New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the ODI series – as Rohit Sharma too can be seen in the video and he featured in the ODIs and not T20Is.
According to the tradition in many hotels in India, the cricketers get a welcome from the hotel staff who put a tilak on their forehead.
While the likes of Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid consented to be applied the tilak on their face, both Umran and Siraj refused for it. Batting coach Vikram Rathour also didn’t agree for the tilak to be applied on his face.
But for a particular section of people in India, they targeted only Siraj and Umran, two cricketers who are Muslim by religion, and this targeting suited the agenda of such fans online who ignored Rathour.
Kajal HINDUsthani, a Social Activist, tagged former India batsman and BJP MP Gautam Gambhir, sharing this video, asking about the “brotherhood-secularism-national unity” that Gambhir endorses.
आप भले ही “भाईचारा- सेक्यूलरिज्म- क़ौमी एकता” की बात करके इनके मजहबी स्थलों पर चादर चढ़ाये या माथा फोड़े, ये लोग कभी आपके मंदिर नहीं आयेंगे और ना ही तिलक लगाएँगे…@GautamGambhir जी, आपको बहुत शोक है जालीदार टोपी पहनकर चादर चढ़ाने का, कुछ सीखिए #मोहम्मद_सिराज और #उमर_मलिक से। pic.twitter.com/OlE6yufv39
— Kajal HINDUsthani (@kajal_jaihind) February 3, 2023
In defence of Malik, sports journalist Rajat Gupta then shared a previous picture of Umran Malik getting the tilak and asked the fans to share this too.
इसे शेयर नहीं करेंगे बस #UmranMalik #siraj pic.twitter.com/E01MUjSOev
— Rajat Gupta (@Rajatgupta199) February 4, 2023
Meanwhile, Umran Malik will get a break ahead of the IPL 2023, while Siraj will be in action in the upcoming 4 Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, starting February 9 in Nagpur.
