New Delhi: It takes one defeat at the hands of India for former Pakistani cricketers to turn their bigoted and communal best. Kamran Akmal and Ijaz Ahmed are the latest in a long list of Pakistanis, including Waqar Yunis, Wasim Akram and Abdul Razzaq, to have passed discriminatory statements against players of both sides.
During a talk show amid the India-Pakistan T20 match on Sunday, the former wicketkeeper made disparaging remarks against India’s left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh. Ahmed, on the other hand, blamed Pakistan’s loss on the team’s ethnic composition—it has a higher number of Pashtun players.
While Akmal has got a response from none other than former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, Ahmed was criticised by Pakistanis themselves for his “pathetic racism”.
Akmal, chuckling with other panellists, remarked, “Kuch bhi ho sakta hai… Dekhe last over karna Arshdeep Singh ne hai. Waise uska rhythm nahi laga. 12 baj gaye hai”, which loosely translates to, “Anything can happen. Arshdeep Singh is bowling the last over; he hasn’t found his rhythm. It’s already 12 o’clock”—a reference to an old, offensive stereotype about Sikhs.
Harbhajan soon took to X to call him out. The former off-spinner, never one to mince words, fired back, saying, “Lakh di laanat tere Kamraan Akhmal [Shame on you, Kamran Akmal]. You should know the history of Sikhs before you open your filthy mouth. We Sikhs saved your mothers and sisters when they were abducted by invaders; the time invariably was 12 o’clock. Shame on you… Have some gratitude.”
Akmal later issued an apology but the damage was done. Both Indian and Pakistani cricket fans rained down on him. Even Imran Khan was brought in when a PTI supporter said that only Khan knew how to use words and language whereas players like Akmal lack the intellect.
In 2021, Waqar Younis had to apologise for a communal comment after Pakistan’s T20 World Cup win against India, praising Mohammad Rizwan for doing Namaz “in front of Hindus.”
In 2019, former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar invited controversy by highlighting the discrimination faced by Danish Kaneria, a Pakistani Hindu cricketer.
In 2023, Abdul Razzaq, faced criticism for comparing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with the Pakistan team post its World Cup exit. He compared the players’ intent to the morality and character of Rai Bachchan. “We don’t really intend to improve and enhance the players, in my opinion. That will never happen if you believe that I will marry Aishwarya (Rai) to have a good-natured and moral child. Therefore, you must first amend your intentions,” he had said. Pakistanis had strongly condemned his remarks and called for an apology.
In the same year, Imran Khan called the Pakistan team a ‘bunch of raillu kattus’ which is a disparaging term used for a lazy person. Wasim Akram perhaps took inspiration in 2023, when he used a casteist slur on live television.
In October 2023, Pakistanis called out one of their own media channels, Cricket Pakistan, after it highlighted an unusual issue: the lack of beef in the Pakistani cricket team’s diet during their time in India.
In all of this animosity, former players Shahid Afridi and Yuvraj Singh perhaps set better examples. In a video featuring the two, Afridi said Singh had congratulated him when Pakistan seemed to be winning. In true sportsmanship spirit, Singh added, “Wins and losses are part of our lives but the love between us should always remain.
Also read: ‘Pakistan’s Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’ is sick of being called that. Here’s why
Pashtun bias
Pakistanis have now resorted to ethnic bias toward their own players. After Pakistan’s loss to India on Sunday, former player Ijaz Ahmed made a comment on national TV, blaming Pashtun players for the defeat, stating, “Eighty per cent of team players are Pashtuns, most of them are uneducated villagers; their only exposure is to go to the mosque, thus they cannot bear the pressure resulting in defeat.”
His rant went unchallenged by the host and panellists, including Akmal.
Former Dawn journalist Abbas Nasir tweeted, “Pathetic racism. I wonder if Ijaz finished his cricket career with his rep intact or was one of those who faced fixing charges? He and Kamran Akmal on the panel with him are so refined and educated; it is only the Pakhtun players who, as per him, have no education, exposure.”
An X user asked, “I wonder why our anchors don’t slap down casual racism on their shows.”
Journalist Zubair Ali Khan also wrote on X, “A very irresponsible conversation on a national TV channel. There are more Pathans in the team because there is more talent.”
“I hope this doesn’t turn into Pashtun vs Punjabis. Shame on Ijaz Ahmed for spewing this filth,” wrote a Pakistani fan.
Soon, Salman Iqbal, the founder and CEO of ARY TV, where the debate was aired, distanced himself from the comments and also asked Ahmed to issue an apology.
“What was said at Kashif Abbasi’s show by Ijaz ahmed is not acceptable by ARY management and me personally. I have a huge respect for the Pakhtun community and all the communities we have in Pakistan. I think that Ijaz ahmed should apologise to the pakhtun community on his statement (sic),” he tweeted.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)