New Delhi: Pakistan’s Cricket World Cup campaign ending in the resignation of captain Babar Azam is a low the team and the country will take some time to recover from. But the 2023 edition was forgettable for the neighbours in more ways than one.
From former team captain Wasim Akram’s casteist slur on national TV and former cricketer Abdul Razzaq’s misogynistic comment on actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, to former cricketer Hasan Raza suggesting the ball is switched when Indian bowlers come on to bowl, the level of debate in Pakistan turned out to be lower than the team’s performance.
Pakistanis can’t get enough of India’s “magic spell” and the TV debates are proof. Once limited to India-Pakistan matches, bizarre claims that Indians hired people to do “black magic” have spread to other qualifiers as well.
The latest in a list of mind-numbing claims made by some Pakistani cricketers who seem to doubt India’s merit came after the latter’s spectacular semi-final win against New Zealand Wednesday. Former pacer Sikander Bakht said on a TV channel that Indian captain Rohit Sharma had tossed the coin in “a very strange” manner, such that it could not be cross-checked by the opposition cricketer.
Very strange the way Rohit Sharma throw the coin at toss, far away, don’t let other Captains to see, compare to other Captains in the WC , any reason?? @BCCI @TheRealPCB @CricketAus @CricketSouthAfrica #sikanderbakht #WorldCup23 #IndiaVsNewZealand @ImRo45 @ICC pic.twitter.com/KxhR2QyUZm
— Sikander Bakht (@Sikanderbakhts) November 15, 2023
The theory was so bizarre that cricketing legends like Akram and Shoaib Malik had to speak up. Both dismissed Bakht’s comments during a discussion on Pakistani channel ASports, with Akram saying he was embarrassed at the suggestion.
However, Akram had earlier made his own contribution to this forgettable list of comments.
On an ASports show, Akram complained about the working conditions at another channel whose producers wanted the hosts to be at the stadium an hour before the match — leaving them sweaty and looking like people from a certain caste, he said.
“I am all for people feeling the vibe of being at the venue but talent also has to (look presentable) and we completely look like (casteist slur),” said Akram.
Also Read: Wasim Akram chamar abuse shows one thing — Pakistan never had an Ambedkar or Mayawati
Bizarre comments
As if the new foot-in-the-mouth comments weren’t enough, a nearly two-month-old clip of Ramiz Raja has surfaced on social media in which the former all-rounder can be seen sniggering at racist remarks against Indian actor Neena Gupta and former West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards on a Pakistani news channel.
Raja, a former president of the Pakistan Cricket Board, received a stinging response from Masaba Gupta, the daughter of Gupta and Richards.
Masaba took to X Wednesday to condemn the cricketer, saying he had no “grace”.
Dear Ramiz Raja ( sir ) grace is a quality few have. My father,mother and I have it in spades. You have none. Sickening to see you laugh on national TV in Pakistan at something the world stopped laughing at about 30 years back.Step into the future. All 3 of us are here with our…
— Masaba (@MasabaG) November 15, 2023
This weekend, Abdul Razzaq came under fire for his misogynistic comments at a panel discussion mentioning Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Razzaq name-dropped the actor in an analogy on neeyat or intention at the ‘Jeet ka Safar’ event to discuss the Pakistani cricket team’s disappointing performance. The panel included cricketers Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Gul.
While criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board’s lack of commitment towards sharpening and boosting the player’s skills, Razzaq said: “We don’t really intend to improve and enhance the players, in my opinion. If you marry Aishwarya Rai you will not have a good-natured and moral child. Therefore, you must first amend your intentions.”
His fellow panellists Afridi and Gul were seen smiling and chuckling at the comment.
In an editorial published Wednesday, the Pakistan daily Dawn condemned Razzaq’s comment, calling it ‘ludicrous and insensitive’ and saying, “A slip of (the) tongue doesn’t result in a sexist remark.”
In October, after Pakistan lost to India, Pakistani social media influencer Hareem Shah claimed that Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, had hired a tantrik to perform “black magic” on the opposition team.
According to credible source, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah hired famous Black magic expert / tantrik Kartick Chakraborty to do black magic on Team Pakistan. @ICC should investigate. This is unacceptable..!!!#INDvsPAK #PAKvIND pic.twitter.com/UPbY9RwAaD
— Hareem Shah (@_Hareem_Shah) October 14, 2023
In September, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf stirred up a controversy after he called India “dushman mulk” (enemy nation). The Board later had to issue a clarification.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: India bulldoze into WC finals, Kohli and Shami record historic performances