Former Pak cricketer Abdul Razzaq issues public apology for controversial 'Aishwarya Rai' remark

Former Pakistani cricketer Abdul Razzaq, who landed in a controversy after he mentioned actress Aishwarya Rai while making a comparison during an event, has issued a public apology. His bizarre comment on the actress triggered a massive row on social media, with people asking him to issue an apology.

"Yesterday, we were talking about cricket coaching and intentions. I had a slip of tongue and mistakenly took Aishwarya Rai’s name. I apologise to her personally. I did not intend to hurt anyone’s sentiment," the ex-Pakistan all rounder said as he appeared on Samaa TV to address the situation.

The incident happened when Razzaq was explaining about the Pakistan cricket team's performance in the World Cup 2023 as well as their coaching strategies. Defending champions England crushed Pakistan in their final group game of the World Cup 2023in Kolkata on Saturday.

Razzaq talked about 'neeyat' and how it helped deliver for the team when he played for his country under former skipper Younis Khan. He suggested that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) did not have the intention to polish the country's cricket.

"Everyone over here is talking about the intention and Pakistan’s team. Actually, we don’t have good intentions to develop and polish players in Pakistan. If you think that by marrying Aishwarya Rai, a good and pious kid would be born, it would never happen," he said.

His comments did not go down well with social media users as well as many of his former teammates and other prominent figures.

Renowned Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, "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 and clapping."

Former Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi, who was present at the event and initially seen clapping, later clarified that he did not know what Abdul Razzaq had said about Aishwarya Rai. Afridi said when he later listened to the clip, he felt bad and would ask Razzaq to issue an apology.

"When I listened to the clip again, I felt bad...I'll message Razzaq to offer an apology. It was a bad joke, and should not have happened," Afridi said while speaking to Samaa TV.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Priyanka Chaturvedi has also slammed Razzaq for his comment.

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