Team India’s poor performance in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 opener against Pakistan set off an ugly social media campaign, first against paceman Mohammed Shami and then against skipper Virat Kohli who defended his teammate. It was Pakistan paceman Mohammad Amir who started the Twitter war by insulting former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on a social media platform, with the veteran Indian spinner not holding back either and called the Pakistani pacer a ‘fixer’.
Former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal has given his opinion on the duo’s Twitter feud as well as the abuse received by Indian cricketers on social media.
“Players should treat each other in a nice manner because sport brings people together. I think Amir made a mistake by jumping in that conversation (between Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan Singh) and he should apologize for it. It was a discussion between two great cricketers and Amir made the wrong choice by getting involved in it,” Ajmal said on Cricket Pakistan.
Harbhajan has been giving his opinions on the developments in the T20 World Cup 2021. He and Shoaib Akhtar have even been invited as guest pundits on a few platforms. Plenty transpired since the India vs Pakistan match in the T20 World Cup last month. Pacer Shami was also abused by a section of people on social media, with some targeting him on the basis of his religious beliefs. Not just that, even Kohli’s daughter Vamika was threatened on social media.
Ajmal feels that it is only a game where one team is bound to lose. The former off-spinner also warned that many budding cricketers would be scared to take up the game if the players’ personal lives continue to be targeted.
“Player plays the game, religion does not play. It is not right to harass players based on their religion. If such things happen, the future generation might be scared of taking up the game. Players are being called gaddars (traitors). Kohli’s nine-month-old daughter is getting rape threats. It is a sport, where one team has to win and one has to lose. India performed badly in a couple of games. But if you look at the stats of the entire year, India have been perhaps the most successful team,” Ajmal said.
