On 10th October (Tuesday), Pakistani wicket-keeping batsman Muhammad Rizwan addressed a post-match press conference. He claimed that their game against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad felt like it was some sort of a home game. He argued that the strong support of the Hyderabad crowd made him feel as if they were playing in Lahore, Karachi, or Rawalpindi.
During the post-match event, Rizwan said, “I felt like I was playing a match in Pindi. The way the crowd gave love today, and not just for me, but for the whole Pakistan team, they gave love.”
One sports journalist inquired about his health as during the match he displayed signs of facing cramps. He noted that even they were feeling pained to see him like that and went on to claim that he played like a mujahid. He also inquired about Pakistan’s 15-day stay in Hyderabad. It is worth noting that during the presentation ceremony when he was asked about cramps, Rizwan said, “Sometimes it is cramps, sometimes it is acting.”
Haha 😂 sometimes cramp sometimes acting ..
— Cric247 (@ArafRayees) October 10, 2023
Some likes for funny rizwan.#SLvsPAK pic.twitter.com/9ajiuglObL
To which, Rizwan made this observation underscoring that support from the Hyderabad crowd made them feel like a home game. However, he also claimed that they were glad to see that the Hyderabadi crowd lauded good cricket as they also supported Sri Lankan cricketers.
Regarding Hyderabad’s hospitality during their 15-day stay, Rizwan expressed, “Hospitality, you all must have seen it. Someone must have taken pictures when we came to the airport. You must have seen it. What you guys didn’t see, the way these guys welcomed us at the airport, was awesome. The way the crowd came, everyone saw it today, the way they gave their voices with love, I said earlier that I felt like I was playing in front of the crowd of Rawalpindi, our ground in Lahore is big, a lot of people come there, this ground felt like Rawalpindi. Today it seems that Pakistan’s match is taking place in Rawalpindi.”
Another sports journalist inquired about the specific aspects of Rizwan’s cricketing skills that he has focused on to enhance his performance over the years.
In his response, he thanked the team management for moving him upward on the batting order. He, however, added that he had the required skillset from the start and had done nothing special except hard work which Allah demanded from him. He added that Allah is Rabbul Alamin and it is by grace that luck favoured him as with that even a thick edge could land in the empty ground.
Meanwhile, loud chants of “Jeetega bhai Jeetega, Pakistan jeetega” engulfed the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday evening during the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka match of the World Cup 2023. Several social media users took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their shock over the support Pakistan was receiving in its match against Sri Lanka.
“Loud chants of “Jeetega bhai jeetega, Pakistan jeetega” in Hyderabad stadium. They did not start organically but the DJ said “jeetega bhai jeetega” & left it to the crowd to finish the famous chant,” said one of the X users, while sharing a video of the same.
Loud chants of "Jeetega bhai jeetega, Pakistan jeetega" in Hyderabad stadium.
— Aditya (@forwardshortleg) October 10, 2023
They did not start organically but DJ said "jeetega bhai jeetega" & left it to the crowd to finish the famous chant.
The chant went on for close to a minute due to the DJ.#PAKvsSL #CWC23 #Hyderabad pic.twitter.com/f5l54qmtsV
A day after the match in which he scored a man-winning innings of unbeaten 131 runs, Muhammad Rizwan dedicated Pakistan’s win to “brothers and sisters in Gaza.” Taking to X, he also thanked the Indian audience and added, “Extremely grateful to the people of Hyderabad for the amazing hospitality and support throughout.” However, the cricketer received a lot of flak for interjecting politics into the game.
This was for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. 🤲🏼
— Muhammad Rizwan (@iMRizwanPak) October 11, 2023
Happy to contribute in the win. Credits to the whole team and especially Abdullah Shafique and Hassan Ali for making it easier.
Extremely grateful to the people of Hyderabad for the amazing hospitality and support throughout.
Why ICC, BCCI, and the GoI need to take stern action over Muhammad Rizwan’s post glorifying Hamas terrorists
Rizwan’s tweet appeared to be in violation of the code of conduct drawn up by the ICC, which has strict rules for cricketers indulging in making political and religious statements. In fact, in World Cup 2019, the ICC had objected to something as benign as wearing wicket-keeping gloves with Indian Army insignia and had asked former Indian wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to remove them.
“The ICC has responded to the BCCI to confirm the logo displayed by MS Dhoni in the previous match is not permitted to be worn on his wicket-keeping gloves at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019,” the ICC statement issued in 2019 read.
Similarly, in 2014, the ICC banned English cricketer Moeen Ali from wearing “Save Gaza” and “Free Palestine” wristbands while playing for England.
The BCCI should also take note of Rizwan’s comment and ensure that foreign cricketers who have come to India for the 2023 World Cup don’t end up exploiting the cricketing platform to peddle individual agendas and express sympathy for terrorists who killed hundreds of civilians in Israel. The Indian government should also step in and convey to the Pakistan Cricket Board that their cricketers must refrain from politicising the sport while being in India for an ICC event. Rizwan should be made to apologise for politicising the World Cup and asked to pull down his post.
