Pakistan greats, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq have urged players to refrain from making provocative comments on social media, amid Shoaib Akhtar – Mohammed Shami spat.
Moments after Pakistan went down against England in the T20 World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar posted a heartbroken emoji on Twitter. However, the micro-blogging site was sent into a tizzy when India bowler Mohammed Shami reacted on the post, saying: “Hello brother, it’s called (sic) karma.” The Twitter exchange went viral within minutes, and former players are now being asked about what transpired on Twitter.
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has now reacted on the entire episode, saying everyone from both India and Pakistan should try to stay neutral and these Twitter exchanges should not happen.
“As an ex-cricketer or a present cricketer, our job is to bring India and Pakistan together, our statements or tweets should be positive. We should stay neutral. Indians are patriotic about their country, and I’m fine with that, we are patriotic about our country. But instead of that, jalti pe tel daalna, tweet pe tweet karna, just don’t do it man,” Akram said onA Sports’ show ‘The Pavilion’.
Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq also reacted on the same, saying: “You shouldn’t do this just for the sake of few ‘Likes’. Cricketers, whether from India or Pakistan or any other country, we are all a family. So, we should respect each other and give our opinions respectfully. We also have a certain responsibility.”
Talking about the match, Ben Stokes and Sam Curran starred as England edged Pakistan by five wickets to become the sport’s first dual white-ball champions, holding both the 50 and 20-over titles.
Jos Buttler’s side held Pakistan to 137-8 in front of a partisan 80,462 fans at a heaving Melbourne Cricket Ground, with player-of-the-match and tournament Curran bagging 3-12 and Adil Rashid chipping with 2-22.
