Former Pakistani skipper Waqar Younis has apologised for his comments made on a TV channel immediately after Pakistan’s victory against India in the T20 World Cup. The apology from Younis came after he faced widespread condemnation for giving communal colour to the outcome of a cricket match.
Reacting to his country’s first-ever win against India in a World Cup match, Younis had said on a Pakistani TV channel, “The best thing was what Rizwan did. Ma Sha Allah, he performed namaaz right in the middle of Hindus. That was really really special.”
No sooner did the video of Younis making objectionable comments go viral, the former Pakistani cricketer began to face condemnation. Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle led the charge as he posted a series of tweets expecting an apology from Younis.
He wrote, “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.”
Bhogle added, “I really hope that a lot of genuine sportslovers in Pakistan are able to see the dangerous side to this statement and join in my disappointment. It makes it very difficult for sportslovers like us to try and tell people it is just sport, just a cricket match.”
Expecting an apology from Younis, Bhogle concluded, “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.”
Younis took to Twitter to write, “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.”
Pakistan have been unstoppable in the ongoing competition, beating India and New Zealand in their first two matches.