Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle recently slammed Pakistan legend and former pacer, Waqar Younis, over a remark he made on Rizwan. Controversy had already been stirred centering the India-Pakistan Super 12 match in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 after Pakistan got the emphatic win after the brilliant performances by skipper Babar Azam and Md. Rizwan. Recently Younis sparked controversy when he said on a Pakistani news channel that watching Pakistani opener Rizwan offering namaz “in front of Hindus was very special to him” Harsha Bhogle noted the comment and heavily criticized Waqar Younis for saying it.
Harsha Bhogle opens up on Waqar Younis
A video of Mohammad Rizwan offering namaz during the drinks break of the match on Sunday went viral. It was in this context Younis had made those remarks but it took a debatable turn.
Pakistan ke Khiladi Muhammad Rizwan khel ke medan me namaz ada karte hue masha Allah pic.twitter.com/UfTnOSr2Td
— Luqman Khan (@Luqman_Khan_Zai) October 25, 2021
Harsha Bhogle was furious with the comments and he called the statement “dangerous” and said that the cricket world needed to be united and not divided by religion.
Taking to Twitter Bhogle said:
“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.”
“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,” he added.
“I really hope that a lot of genuine sports lovers in Pakistan are able to see the dangerous side to this statement and join in my disappointment. It makes it very difficult for sports lovers like us to try and tell people it is just sport, just a cricket match,” he added.
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
Pakistani side scripted history as they got the better of Virat Kohli’s India and won the match by 10 wickets in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 match in Dubai. Rizwan made an unbeaten 79, while Babar scored 68 not-out. The win marks the end of the iconic streak as Pakistan won a World Cup match against India in any format.
Highlights:
- Waqar Younis said Rizwan offering namaz “in front of Hindus was very special to him”
- Harsha Bhogle feels it is “terrible” to hear such a comment
