Oct 28, 2021: Fahad Mustafa has responded to Indian cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle after he criticized former cricketer Waqar Younis for his comments on prayers after the India-Pakistan World Cup clash.
Waqar Younis had earlier apologized for his comments when he said the biggest moment for him was when Muhammad Rizwan prayed in a ground full of Hindus
Waqar caused a stir this week when he appeared on Kashif Abbasi’s show to discuss Pakistan’s performance in India’s win over India. He described Rizwan’s prayer in the stadium as one of the best highlights of the game. “The best thing Rizwan did was pray on a land surrounded by Hindus. It was very special to me,” Waqar said.
Many people were disappointed when a clip of Waqar’s comments appeared on social media. He called his statement “sectarian” and accused him of “playing religion”. Harsha Bhogle remarked that Waqar’s words were “terrible to hear”.
He tweeted, “It was very special for Waqar Younis’ stature to say that seeing Rizwan praying in front of Hindus was the most disappointing thing I have ever heard.” “A lot of people try to play things like that down and talk about sports, and it’s awful to hear that.”
Its equally hard to see muslims being portrayed as terrorists in almost every Bollywood movie for the longest.. I can’t imagine how difficult and embarrassing it must be for muslims in india to watch themselves being ridiculed like that.#stophypocrisy https://t.co/hr8mdQJ4ci
— Fahad Mustafa (@fahadmustafa26) October 26, 2021
In the heat of the moment, I said something which I did not mean which has hurt the sentiments of many. I apologise for this, this was not intended at all, genuine mistake. Sports unites people regardless of race, colour or religion. #apologies 🙏🏻
— Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) October 26, 2021
Hersha added that cricketers are the brand ambassadors of their sport and therefore should be more responsible. Fahad Mustafa retweeted Harsha’s comments and criticized the negative portrayal of Muslims in Bollywood.
Fahad replied, “It is equally difficult to see Muslims portrayed as terrorists for the longest time in almost every Bollywood film.” “I can’t imagine how difficult and embarrassing it would be for Muslims in India to see themselves making such a joke.”
Fahad completed his tweet with a hashtag calling for an “end to hypocrisy”.
However, Waqar has apologized for his comments, which he described as “unintentional”. “In the heat of the moment, I said something I didn’t mean that hurt a lot of people’s feelings,” he tweeted. “I apologize for that. It was not a goal at all, it was a real mistake. Sports unite people regardless of race, color or religion.
Muhammad Aamir and Harbhajan Singh also engaged in an ugly Twitter fight after the match.
Prior to that spat, Former Indian cricketers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir took to Twitter after Pakistan’s 10 wicket win over India in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, to react to firecrackers being used in celebrations in some parts of the country.
“Firecrackers are banned during Diwali but yesterday in parts of India there were firecrackers to celebrate Pakistan’s victory. Achcha they must have been celebrating victory of cricket. Toh, what’s the harm in fireworks on Diwali. Hypocrisy kyun ,Saara gyaan tab hi yaad aata hai,” retired star batsman Virender Sehwag said.
On Sunday, students hailing from Kashmir were attacked post India’s defeat in two universities located in Punjab. Aside from this, Indian Muslims have already become a target of hate crimes following India’s devastating loss in just a game. Tweets like these with subtle insinuations or dog-whistles have drawn much criticism on Twitter.
Former cricketer and current Member of Parliament, Gautam Gambhir also tweeted on the same lines as Sehwag. He declared “those bursting crackers on Pakistan winning can’t be Indian” and got called out for conducting the NRC by seeing who supports which team in a cricket match.
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