Harsha Bhogle slams Waqar Younis for calling Rizwan’s on-field namaz in front of Hindus special

Controversies around the high-voltage India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match on October 24 refuse to die.

Former Pakistan cricketer Waqar Younis sparked a fresh controversy on Tuesday, October 26, when he said on a Pakistani news channel that watching Pakistani opener Mohammad Rizwan offering namaz “in front of Hindus was very special to him”. Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar was also on the show.

However, this did not go down well with Indian sports commentator Harsha Bhogle. He called the statement “dangerous” and said that the cricket world needed to be united and not divided by religion.

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.”

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,” 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.

A video of Mohammad Rizwan offering namaz during the drinks break of the match on Sunday went viral.

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

Babar Azam’s Pakistani side scripted history, defeating Virat Kohli’s India 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. Before this game, Pakistan had never won a World Cup match against India in any format.

PAK MINISTER SAYS ‘WIN A VICTORY OF ISLAM’

In a video that went viral on Sunday, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed had stoked a controversy saying that the sentiments of Muslims from around the world, including in India, were with the Pakistani cricket team during the match.

BABAR AGREES TO ‘NON-BELIEVERS DESTROYED’ COMMENT

In another video that went viral after the match, Pakistani commentator Bazid Khan can be heard saying: “Kufr to toot hi gaya” (translated by many as the non-believers have been finally destroyed), to which captain Babar Azam says, “Yeh allah ka karm hai.”

Pakistani commentator said “Kuffar to toot hi gaya” (the non-believers has been been finally destroyed).

Babur in reply says, “Yeh allah ka karm hai” pic.twitter.com/FpQiKVFAu9

— Megh Updates (@MeghUpdates1) October 24, 2021