Former Pakistani cricketer Abdul Razzaq drew flak for comparing reference to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan after Pakistan’s World Cup exit. While hitting out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s intentions, Razzaq shelled out a bizarre example, mentioning the actress name. Social media slammed the former Pakistan allrounder comments and asked him to apologise.
The former cricketer has now apologised for his controversial remark and said he did not intend to hurt anyone’s sentiments. While appearing on Samaa TV, he said, “Yesterday, we were talking about cricket coaching and intentions. I had a slip of the tongue and mistakenly took Aishwarya Rai’s name. I apologise to her personally. I did not intend to hurt anyone’s sentiment.”
In a tweet on X (formerly Twitter), he also wrote, “I am very ashamed of yesterday and I realize I said very bad words. I apologize to everyone, please forgive me.”
Razzaq, while hitting out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s intentions, shelled out a bizarre example, mentioning the name of Aishwarya. Speaking at a press conference, where former players like Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi were also present, Razzaq said, “Here, I am referring to their (PCB’s) intention. While I was playing, I was aware of my captain Younis Khan’s good intentions. That gave me strength and confidence, and with Allah’s help, I was able to perform well for Pakistani cricket.” He added, while elaborating more, “We don’t really intend to improve and enhance the players, in my opinion. That will never happen if you believe that I will marry Aishwarya (Rai) to have a good-natured and moral child. Therefore, you must first amend your intentions.”
Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar condemned the inappropriate joke by Razzaq and also slammed Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul for clapping. Taking to X, he wrote, “I highly condemn the inappropriate joke/comparison made by Razzaq. No woman should be disrespected like this. People seated beside him should have raised their voice right away rather than laughing & clapping”
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