Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle, who is hailed as the ‘Voice of Cricket’, has condemned former Pakistani skipper Waqar Younis for making an insensitive comment against Hindus by saying that Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Rizwan offering Namaz in front of Hindus was special for him.
On Sunday, Babar Azam-led Pakistan cricket team scripted history as they thrashed the Indian cricket team by 10 wickets in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 match in Dubai. During the match, Mohammad Rizwan grabbed the unnecessary spotlight after he was seen offering Namaz during drinks break while India was batting.
After the game, during a talk show, Waqar Younis made an insensitive statement. He said: “Mohammad Rizwan offering namaz in front of Hindus was very very special for me”.
Shoaib Akhtar, who was also present at the talk show when the former Pakistani pacer made the comment but Akhtar didn’t even flinch after listening to such an insensitive statement.
“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
Meanwhile, disappointed with the comments from Younis, Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle took to his Twitter and shared a series of tweets slamming Waqar Younis. In his thread, Bhogle claimed that Younis’ insensitive comment “is one of the most disappointing things I have heard”. He wrote:
“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.”
He added:
“I really hope that a lot of genuine sportslovers in Pakistan are able to see the dangerous side to this statement and join in my disappointment. It makes it very difficult for sportslovers like us to try and tell people it is just sport, just a cricket match.”
Bhogle further said he is sure that there will be an apology on the way from Waqar Younis. He wrote:
“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”
Here, check out the Tweets:
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
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 26, 2021
