Waqar Younis had made a controversial religious statement after Pakistan's win over India.
Former Pakistan cricketer Waqar Younis recently sparked a controversy with his shocking statement after Pakistan's 10-wicket victory over India in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Waqar had said on a news channel that watching Pakistani opener Mohammad Rizwan offering namaz “in front of Hindus was very special to him”.
The ex-cricketer was slammed by India's famous commentator Harsha Bhogle for his statement. Bhogle said Waqar's statement was very disappointing to hear and the game shouldn't be divided on the basis of religion.
"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," he wrote in his reply.
Bhogle's words were echoed by Pakistan's cricketer Rameez Raja and he accused Waqar of being a racist. "Not surprised at all. I can tell by my own experience, A guy who is racist about his own country’s languages and cities can easily say this kinda negative remark about religious differences. #alwaysbitter #alwaysnegative," he claimed in a tweet.
Rameez was part of Pakistan's Under-19 winning squad in 2006. He was the top scorer for Pakistan in a low-scoring final against India. The 34-year-old has played only 2 T20I matches for Pakistan, back in 2011.