Alfaaz – The Words Exclusive
Srinagar: Presenter Ramiz Raja was apparently forced to cut short his talk with ‘Player of the Match’ Ibrahim Zadran after the latter made a highly sensitive comment aimed at neighbouring country Pakistan.
Afghanistan strike batter Zadran, who won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his 113 ball 87 runs, when asked to collect his award got hold of a mic for his customary talk to the presenter Ramiz Raja – who has happened to be the former captain of the losing team Pakistan.
Talking about his performance, Zadran went on to say that he dedicates his win to the refugees of Afghanistan, putting up in Pakistan, who have lately asked to go back to their homeland (Afghanistan). “I want to dedicate this Man of the Match to the people who were sent from Pakistan to back home Afghanistan (sic.),” Zadran said.
After hearing the comment, the presenter Raja from Pakistan cut short his talk, saying “Fantastic Work… Well Done.”
The ICC which sees political statements and references on the field against the ‘spirit of game’ is however yet to react to the statement of the Afghan batter – and it may never, given the patronage Afghan Cricket is enjoying from few selected Cricket boards.
Pertinent to mention here that the comment of Zadran has come in the backdrop of nearly 1.7 million undocumented Afghan refugees being asked to leave Pakistan by or before November 1. The decision has already attracted the ire of Kabul, which has downgraded the decision of Islamabad as ‘unacceptable’.
It should be noted that Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan came under heavy criticism from many players and organisations for dedicating his victory against Sri Lanka to the Palestinian civilians who have came under a direct attack of Israel in the backdrop of a deadly assault carried out by resistance fighter group Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Notably, Afghanistan pulled up a major upset by defeating Pakistan by 8 wickets in Chennai. This also marked the first victory of Afghanistan against neighbours’ Pakistan in total eight matches the two teams have played so far.
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