Veteran Indian Cricketer and pacer Venkatesh Prasad has slammed Waqar Younis for his ‘Namaz’ comment. Prasad said that the former Pakistani fast bowler and captain Waqar Younis took his Jihadi mindset to the next level through his comment.

Venkatesh Prasad said, “”Hinduon ke beech me khade hoke namaaz padi, that was very very special for me” – Waqar . Takes jihadi mindset of another level to say this in a sport. What a shameful man.”

In a talk show on Monday, Waqar Younis had said that it was very special for him when Mohammad Rizwan offered the Namaz in front of Hindus during the India Pakistan match at the T20 World Cup. Waqar had said, “The manner in which Babar and Rizwan batted, sensible yet aggressive, the strike-rotation, the look on their faces, it was amazing. The best thing, what Rizwan did, Mashalla, he offered the Namaz on the ground surrounded by Hindus, that was really something very very special for me.”

Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle has also condemned Waqar Younis for saying that watching Mohammad Rizwan offering the Namaz in front of Hindus during the India versus Pakistan T20 World Cup match was very special for him.

Harsha Bhogle said that it was one of the most disappointing things he had heard and it was terrible for Waqar Younis to say such a thing. Bhogle said, “For a person of Waqar Younis’ stature to say that watching Rizwan offering namaz in front of Hindus was very special to him, is one of the most disappointing things I have heard. A lot of us try hard to play such things down and talk up sport and to hear this is terrible.”

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Harsha Bhogle stated further, “I really hope that a lot of genuine sports lovers in Pakistan are able to see the dangerous side to this statement and join in my disappointment. It makes it very difficult for sports lovers like us to try and tell people it is just sport, just a cricket match.”

The commentator said that he was “sure” Waqar Younis would apologize for the comment.

Here’s why Harsha Bhogle is being naive

While Bhogle appears to believe that sports lovers in Pakistan would see the bigotry in the comment by Waqar Younis, the truth of the matter is that it is an extremely mainstream opinion in the country. In the aftermath of Pakistan’s victory, their Interior Minister had said that it was victory for the Muslim world.

Furthermore, Shoaib Akhtar was present at the talk show when the former Pakistani pacer made the comment and Akhtar did not even flinch. Of course, prior to the match, Shoaib Akhtar had himself reiterated his faith in the two nation theory, the theory that led to the partition and the genocide of Hindus that followed, during a talk show with Harbhajan Singh.

This mentality among Pakistani cricketers is not new. Former captain of the Pakistan cricket team and the current Prime Minister of the country, Imran Khan, had said during his days as a player that he considered matches against India as a ‘Jihad’ waged for the cause of Kashmiri Muslims.

Imran Khan had said in the early 1980s, “Well, when we play against India, I don’t see this game as cricket. I think of Kashmir, and regard it as a jihad."

References:

Opindia.com - OpIndia Staff