“I don’t think Pakistani people are doing like that (on whether they will boo Steve Smith). Pakistani people love cricket, and they love to support. They love the players,” Sarfaraz Ahmed said in the pre-match press conference.
Sarfaraz was replying to a journalist’s question regarding the Virat Kohli’s gesture in India-Australia cash. Virat Kohli had asked the crowd to stop booing (for the on-ball tampering) and applaud the Australian cricket, Steve Smith, who was fielding at the boundary.
Journalist: Will you do what #ViratKohli did if Pakistan fans boo Smith and Warner?#SarfarazAhmed: pic.twitter.com/8NaekmIpvt
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 11, 2019
There is a famous saying, ‘people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.’ Before taking a dig on Indian fans, Sarfaraz should have checked how the Pakistani fans behaved in front of their team. Not going back too far, Pakistan lost their opening game against West Indies, their fans shamed the team when they were returning to pavilion.
FITTAY MOO
FITTAY MOO
Kay Taunts to Pakistan players. pic.twitter.com/Fvz8w8Z1tA— JB (@badnocs) May 31, 2019
What Virat did was a tremendous on-field behaviour by an opposing captain, to uplift the confidence of a player who came out of a ban after accepting his mistake. Sarfaraz could have just said that he expects the crowd not to go after Smith.
Here is a video after the Australia-Pakistan match (Sarfaraz praised Pakistani fans before this game only) where Pakistani supporters are booing their opener Imam for playing a slow knock against Australia.
Listen what the People in the crowd Outside were saying when Pakistani Players were going back into the Bus after the match … pic.twitter.com/wt16pOgnkl
— Taimoor Zaman (@taimoorze) June 13, 2019
Sarfaraz shouldn’t forget that Mohammad Amir who was banned for five years for his role in spot-fixing, was welcomed wholeheartedly by Kohli at Eden Gardens in 2016 during the WT20 game. The Indian fans didn’t misbehave either during the match.
However, sportsmanship is not the cup of tea for Pakistan. Sarfaraz himself got banned for four international matches for his racial abuses earlier this year against South Africa.
“Abey kaale, teri ammi aaj kahaan baitheen hain? Kya parwa ke aaye hai aaj?,” Sarfaraz was heard saying on stump mic which translates to: “Hey black guy, where’s your mother sitting today? What (prayer) have you got her to say for you today.”
He was caught on camera when Phehlukwayo and van der Dussen were trying to revive their team after losing five wickets for 80 in the run-chase.
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed is at risk of a suspension after stump mics caught him over these racial comments https://t.co/BfZuHwhDOc pic.twitter.com/z4LwhSwuFR
— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) January 23, 2019
There is a long history of how Pakistani cricket fans behaved after Pakistan lost to India in the World Cup or whenever they lost badly to a team in a test or one-day series. So Sarfaraz, better concentrate on performing than taking a dig on fans of the other side of the border.
