Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi and cricketer Muhammad Nawaz on Tuesday came in support of fast bowler Haris Rauf, who was allegedly abused by a fan in Florida recently.
A video of Rauf engaging in an ugly fight with a group of Pakistani fans has gone viral on social media. He came across the group of Pakistanis while on a walk with his wife when one of the fans abused Rauf's father which angered the cricketer.
Rauf charged towards the man to confront him and exchanged a few angry remarks before he was pulled away by his wife. The 30-year-old initially assumed that the fan was from India but he turned out to be a Pakistani.
"Yeh tera India nahi hai," Rauf was heard yelling at the fan after being pulled away by his wife.
"Pakistani hoon, aapka fan hoon," the man replied. "Pakistani hai aur yeh teri haalat hai. Gaali baap ko de raha hai," Rauf screamed back at him.
Haris breaks silence on the controversy
Rauf later issued a clarification a few hours after the video spread like wildfire on X. He revealed that the fan had abused his family which forced him to "respond accordingly".
Support from PCB and PAK teammate
PCB chief Naqvi meanwhile, condemned the incident which took place after Pakistan's group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup 2024 in USA. The board chairman said PCB will take legal action if the fans don't apologise to Rauf.
"Strongly condemn the appalling incident involving Haris Rauf. Such actions against our players are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Those who are involved must immediately apologise to Haris Rauf, failing which we will pursue legal action against the individual responsible," Naqvi tweeted.
Nawaz sympathised with Rauf's reaction, "Ap family k sath ja rhy hain aur koi apko Maa behn ki Gali deta rahay, kio k ap tu public property hain. Nonsense and unacceptable!! Criticism is always welcomed but it shouldn’t come in form of disrespect or abuse please."
