Legendary Pakistan cricket team fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was extremely critical of his one-time teammate Abdul Razzaq after the latter namedropped Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan while slamming the national side's disappointing run in the Cricket World Cup 2023. During a recent interaction, Razzaq talked about the changing 'neeyat' or motive of the team and mentioned Aishwarya in an attempt to make his point. The statement faced a lot of criticism from social media users and Shoaib Akhtar also blasted the other guests present at the event for clapping and not criticising the comments made by Razzaq.
Former Pakistan cricketers Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi were in attendance.
"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," he posted on the social media platform X (formerly called Twitter).
Meanwhile, former Indian cricket team star Mohammed Kaif took to social media and said that the Pakistan side was "too soft" and their pacers were "too nice" in this year's Cricket World Cup.
Kaif compared the pace attack to legends like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar - cricketers whom he felt were much more intimidating and had a great impact on opposition batters.
"Somehow feel this Pakistan team was too soft, their pacers too nice. Wasim, Waqar, Shoaib were intimidating. They would stare at you, even sledge. Babar, Shaheen, Rauf - they lacked that aura, they looked too friendly," he posted on the social media platform X (formerly called Twitter).