Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has lashed out at Hindutva fanatics for hounding Mohammad Shami in the wake of India’s 10-wicket defeat by Pakistan in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Mincing no words, Pathan wrote on Twitter, “Even I was part of #IndvsPak battles on the field where we have lost but never been told to go to Pakistan! I’m talking about India of few years back. THIS CRAP NEEDS TO STOP. #Shami.”
Even I was part of #IndvsPak battles on the field where we have lost but never been told to go to Pakistan! I’m talking about ???????? of few years back. THIS CRAP NEEDS TO STOP. #Shami
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 25, 2021
No sooner did India lose to Pakistan in their T20 World Cup match, a group of Hindutva fanatics had taken to Instagram to accuse Mohammad Shami of accepting money from Pakistan. They had posted nasty messages on Shami’s Instagram page questioning his loyalty to India because of his Muslim identity. Shami was the only Muslim player in the team that played against Pakistan.
Shami, who’s been a mainstay of the Indian bowling attack for many years, had conceded 17 runs in his last over.
Many Indian players failed to rise to the occasion with the bat or ball, but Hindutva fanatics chose to single out Shami for their attack due to his Muslim identity. The development evoked angry reactions from netizens, who urged Indian skipper Virat Kohli and his teammates to publicly condemn such an attack against one of their own colleagues.
Many netizens had rightly pointed out that so-called Indian heroes ought to learn from English football team, which rallied behind their black players when they were singled out for racist attack for missing penalties in this year’s Euro football competition. Others asked Virat Kohli to learn from the English cricketers to publicly support Moeen Ali, when he was racially abused by Bangladeshi hatemonger Taslima Nasreen on Twitter. Faced with the growing outrage, Nasreen was forced to delete her disgusting tweet.
In Shami’s case, none of his teammates has chosen to publicly speak against the Hindutva hatemongers.