Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed found himself in the midst of heavy backlash following his team’s heart-wrenching 89-run defeat to India at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on June 16.
Former players, coupled with the fans, called out the team for their uninspiring attitude, and questioned whether the squad is actually fit enough to represent the nation at the biggest stage of all. The defeat was soon followed by fans venting out their frustration on Twitter and the situation went out of hand when a fan recorded a video where he called his captain a “fat-pig” in a mall in England.
The video went viral on the internet and what was actually distressing in that clip was the fact that Sarfaraz had his son on his lap during the time. Now speaking about it, the 32-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has explained how it affected him personally.
“This was playing on my mind, but I didn’t pay much heed as I thought he won’t do this as his family was also with him. I spoke to his family. One of his family members also apologized on his behalf. But when the video became viral my body language was demotivated.
A shameful act by a Pakistani fan with captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, this is how we treat our National Heros. Highly condemnable!! 😡 pic.twitter.com/WzAj0RaFI7
— Syed Raza Mehdi (@SyedRezaMehdi) June 21, 2019
“It was not because of me. It was because of my son Abdullah who was with me at that time. That’s why it hurt me even more,” he said in an official ICC interview.
Adding to it, the skipper also mentioned how badly it conditioned his wife as well.
“When I went back to the hotel, I saw my wife was crying after watching the video. I tried to explain to her that this is just one video and that we have had people walk up to us and tell things. This is nothing serious, we must be strong. All of this is a part of life, when we don’t perform well, we will have to go through all this,” the Pakistan skipper added.
“I was very angry at that moment, but if I had gotten into an argument people would not have seen the truth and I would’ve been seen in a negative light instead. That’s why I felt not reacting to the incident was the best response as I left it to God,” he said.
Pakistan eventually came back to the winning ways soon after, as they registered a 49-run victory over South Africa at Lord’s on Sunday (June 23) to keep their semi-final hopes well and truly alive.
Fan showing love and support for Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed😍
— ZEE. 🇵🇰 (@iBleedGreenZEE) June 23, 2019
"SARFARAZ WE ARE SORRY" pic.twitter.com/tO7YRVgAlC
As he took the field against New Zealand on Tuesday, banners of the fans apologizing to their captain were visible across the field of Edgbaston.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter / CricketWorldCup
