T20 World Cup 2021: 5 controversies that erupted following Pakistan’s win over India

Pakistan ended their winless streak against India at the World Cup on Sunday. They put up a dominant performance with both the bat and ball to crush their arch-rivals by 10 wickets in Dubai in the T20 World Cup 2021 clash.

India went into the match as favorites considering their current form as well as the psychological advantage of never having lost to Pakistan in a World Cup match, be it the 50-over version or the T20 format. On paper as well, Virat Kohli’s men seemed the stronger of the two sides.

But it only needed a couple of overs of brilliance from Shaheen Shah Afridi to pretty much decide the fate of the match. He sent back India’s big guns, openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, cheaply. After that, it was all Pakistan as they cruised to victory.

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India vs Pakistan: The ugly battle off the field

There are often extreme reactions from both sides following an India versus Pakistan encounter. However, this time things have gone too far and have turned horribly ugly. Here’s a lowdown.

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#1 Bazid Khan’s “kufr tou toot gaya” comment

Bazid Khan and Babar Azam during the India vs Pakistan clash. Pic: Twitter

The first controversy emerged immediately after the India-Pakistan match was over. At the post-match presentation, presenter Bazid Khan was heard telling winning captain Babar Azam - “lekin kufr toh toot gaya”.

A lot of people took objection to the use of the world “kufr”. According to some, it was a “religious hate slur”. However, a few others tried to clarify that the “kufr toot gaya” is an Urdu phrase which basically meant that the “jinx had been broken”.

So all Bazid Khan was trying to imply was that Pakistan had ended their losing streak against India in the World Cup. Despite this, the debate over the use of the phrase continues on Twitter.

Check out the updated T20 World Cup 2021 points table here.

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#2 Mohammed Shami subjected to online abuse

Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami. Pic: BCCI

Indian pacer Mohammed Shami, who had an off-day against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup clash in Dubai, was subjected to some brutal trolling online. Shocking abuses were hurled at him. Some asked him to “go to Pakistan”, others questioned his credibility as a fast bowler.

Things got so bad that former (not current) cricketers had to come out in Shami’s defence. Retired all-rounder Irfan Pathan took to Twitter and wrote that he was also part of matches where India lost to their arch-rivals but was never told to “go to Pakistan”.

Irfan tweeted:

“Even I was part of #IndvsPak battles on the field where we have lost but never been told to go to Pakistan! I’m talking about IN of few years back. THIS CRAP NEEDS TO STOP. #Shami.”

Later, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh also spoke out in support of Shami, while Aakash Chopra changed his social media profile picture to that of the India fast bowler’s.

#3 Pakistan minister claims “victory for Islam”

A screengrab from Sheikh Rasheed's video

Trust politicians to make a mockery of an India versus Pakistan "cricket" match. While Virat Kohli hugged Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan and MS Dhoni was seen interacting with Pakistan’s cricketers, Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed came up with a shocker.

Rasheed said Pakistan’s win against India was a “victory for Islam”. In a viral video, Rasheed claimed that sentiments of Muslims from around the world, including in India, were with the Pakistani team during the game. He proclaimed:

"For Pakistan, today's India-Pakistan match was the final."

Rasheed also added that he had asked security personnel to remove barricades so that citizens could be “allowed” to celebrate Pakistan’s win.

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#4 Sehwag, Gambhir’s “firecracker” tweets

Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag

Back in India, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who opened the batting together for the country for many years, were united in their views of India’s defeat as well.

Both took to Twitter and criticized those “celebrating” Pakistan’s win in India. Gambhir wrote:

“Those bursting crackers on Pak winning can’t be Indian! We stand by our boys! #Shameful.”

Sehwag chipped in:

“Firecrackers are banned during Diwali but yesterday in parts of India there were firecrackers to celebrate Pakistan ‘s victory. Achha they must have been celebrating victory of cricket. Toh , what’s the harm in fireworks on Diwali. Hypocrisy kyun ,Saara gyaan tab hi yaad aata hai.”

While some supported the former cricketers’ views, others expressed their disappointment over the stance taken by the two. Sehwag was even called out for tweeting in support of Shami after making the “firecracker” comment.

#5 Waqar Younis’ “Hindu vs Muslim” statement

Former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis. Pic: Getty Images

The worst of all came from Pakistan legend Waqar Younis. During a discussion on Pakistan’s famous win over India, Waqar told ARY News:

"The manner in which Babar and Rizwan batted, the strike-rotation, the look on their faces, it was amazing. The best thing, what Rizwan did, Mashalla, he offered the Namaz on the ground surrounded by Hindus, that was really something very special for me."

There was massive outrage on social media over Waqar’s shocking take on Pakistan’s historic win. The former fast bowler later issued an apology. He tweeted:

“In the heat of the moment, I said something which I did not mean which has hurt the sentiments of many. I apologise for this, this was not intended at all, genuine mistake. Sports unites people regardless of race, colour or religion. #apologies.”

The damage had already been done though.