Days after making an insulting remark about Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai, former Pakistan cricketer Abdul Razzaq has made another contentious comment against India. Razzaq said that it is great for cricket that India lost in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against Australia. He made these remarks while speaking in a program named ‘Hasna Mana Hai’ on the Pakistani channel Geo News on 20th November.
Abdul Razzaq said, “In fact, cricket won and India lost! If you use the conditions in your favour it never works out like that. Had India won today, the cricket would have gone on their side. But the game has told us that it is cricket that stands with those who are brave, mentally strong, give effort, and dedicate their lives to it. India did not do that. I am happy because, had India won the World Cup, it would have been a very sad moment for us in the sense that they used conditions to their advantage.”
Abdul Razzaq added, “I have never seen such a poor pitch for an ICC final, but they made the most of the circumstances. Today you see 400 runs scored in a semifinal match. The other team scored 350 in the same match. In another semifinal match, only 220-230 runs were scored. You saw the final match where just 240 runs were scored. This clearly means that there is something in the conditions. No such conditions should be there. There should be absolutely fair pitches. There should be a fair atmosphere. It should be balanced for both teams. Today also India took advantage. Had Kohli made a century, India would have won the World Cup.”
Earlier, on 12th November, the former Pakistani Cricketer drew a bizarre parallel between marrying Aishwarya Rai and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Abdul Razzaq was attending an event at the Karachi Marriott Hotel with former Pakistani crickets who were part of the T20 team that won the 2009 World Cup. He ridiculed the intentions of PCB by dragging Indian actress Aishwarya Rai into a totally uncalled-for statement, reflecting the deep-seated Hinduphobia and misogyny endemic to Pakistan society.
The Pakistani Cricket Team was kicked out of the tournament after 5 defeats in the league matches. Babar Azam-led Pakistani Cricket Team failed to register a single win against the eventual semifinalists. On the other hand, the Indian cricket team, led by Rohit Sharma, reached the final of the World Cup undefeated, In the final match, Australia beat India by six wickets while chasing a target of 241 runs.
