Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar on Tuesday slammed his ex-teammate Abdul Razzaq over his sexist comment involving Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai.
Razzaq is facing flack from the Pakistan cricketing fraternity for dragging the former Miss World's name in his joke while taking a jibe at the PCB and team management.
Akhtar took to X to condemn Razzaq's comment and also lashed out at the former Pakistan cricket stars who were seen laughing and clapping on stage during the event.
"I highly condemn the inappropriate joke/comparison made by Razzaq. No woman should be disrespected like this.
"People seated beside him should have raised their voice right away rather than laughing & clapping," Akhtar tweeted.
Afridi, Gul clarify their stance
Former captain Shahid Afridi and ex-pacer Umar Gul were also present on stage with Razzaq and seen laughing at his supposed joke.
But Afridi later clarified that he did not clearly hear what Razzaq said and vowed to make him apologise for the comment.
"We were sitting on stage during the program when Razzaq said something. I started laughing just like that, I couldn't hear or understand what exactly he said.
"Everyone started laughing over there. When I came home someone shared that clip with me. When I listened to it properly I realised it was wrong. I will message Razzaq now and ask him to say sorry. It was a bad joke, it shouldn't be done," Afridi said on Samaa TV.
Gul also explained that they did not clap at Razzaq's comment.
“Dear brother, @SAfridiOfficial bhai and I did not clap in the clip to endorse what Abdul Razzaq said but it was in sarcasm. No1 there appreciated or endorsed what was said by him. It was ethically n morally wrong. Everyone has a different perspective and it’s always wrong to name people who r not even a part of the conversation,” Umar Gul wrote.
What Razzaq said about Aishwarya Rai
Razzaq, while slamming the PCB's intentions, gave an example of the former Miss World which made everyone present in the event laugh but netizens on social media did not find anything funny in his comment.
"I'm talking about their (PCB's) intention here. I knew when I was playing that my captain Younis Khan's intentions were good. I took confidence and courage from that and thanks to Allah I could deliver for Pakistan cricket.
"If you think that I will get married to Aishwarya (Rai) to have a well-mannered and virtuous child, then that can never happen. So you have to correct your intentions first," Razzaq said in Urdu which led to a loud cheer from the audience.
