After repeatedly calling India captain Suryakumar Yadav a "pig" during a chat on a Pakistani TV channel, former Pakistan captain Muhammad Yousuf has come under intense criticism.
Yousuf's response followed Suryakumar's refusal to shake hands after India's Asia Cup 2025 Group A match against Pakistan. Even the anchor was taken aback by Yousuf's word choice and repeatedly corrected him, but he persisted in focusing on Suryakumar.
“These poor people just can’t get out of their filmy mindset. They are still stuck in their own filmy world. And that Suar (pig) Kumar is…,” Yousuf said, despite being corrected by the Samaa TV anchor.
“India should be ashamed of the way they are trying to win, by taking the umpire on their side, by torturing Pakistan through the match referee. Their umpire's finger is dancing on the orders of PM Modi… When we used to play, that finger was not raising that much,” he added.
Madan Lal, a former all-rounder for India who played for the team that won the World Cup in 1983, was blunt in his criticism of Yousuf for going to such lengths on live television. The 74-year-old claimed in an interview that remarks like these made by Pakistani cricket players reveal the real nature of their nation.
"See, that shows the character of the Pakistani people. How can you abuse someone? They only know these sorts of things. Abusing someone is totally wrong. How can a cricketer who has played at the highest level abuse anyone? That is utter stupidity," said Madan Lal to India Today.
He also called Yousuf an uneducated person, adding that such people shouldn't be allowed to sit on live television.
"They are not educated people. That's why they do such things. This didn't happen during our playing days. I understand sledging and all, but abusing someone on live television is not the right thing to do. That's what Pakistan is all about. That is why their cricket is suffering. They are frustrated people because they are losing a lot to India. They do this for publicity. We should not talk about such people on live television,” he added.
Team India players had refused to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts after defeating them in Dubai by 7 wickets. Suryakumar Yadav had also mentioned the Pahalgam terrorist attacks during his post-match presentation and then dedicated the win to the Indian armed forces.
