Former Pakistan cricket team skipper Shahid Afridi distanced himself from the controversial statement made by his one-time teammate Abdul Razzaq involving Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. During a recent event, Afridi was in attendance along with Razzaq and former Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul. Razzaq criticised Babar Azam and Pakistan's performance in the Cricket World Cup 2023 where they failed to reach the semifinals after losing five out of their nine matches. During his analysis, Razzaq made a comment where he namedropped Aishwarya but it was not received well by the internet as he was criticised massively. On Tuesday, Afridi made it clear that he was not aware of exactly he was saying on stage and clarified that he will ask Razzaq to apologise.
“I saw the clip when I went home and realised that Abdul Razzaq made a wrong statement. I knew he had a mike in his hand and will say something. He has a habit of cracking jokes. I will just text him to apologize for what he said as it was wrong,” Afridi said.
Gul also posted a clarification on the internet regarding the incident and the resulting controversy.
"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," he posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The statement in response of the criticism from his fellow ex-Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar.
"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 posted on the social media platform X (formerly called Twitter).