Many Pakistan cricketers gave their full backing to pacer Haris Rauf a day after a video of his brawl with a group of fans in the USA surfaced on various social media platforms.
However, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan’s support tweet for teammate Rauf took a different turn. He was slammed for dragging India’s name into it.
The incident occurred outside Pakistan’s team hotel after their group-stage exit from the ongoing T20 World Cup. The incident happened because of some inappropriate comments made by one of the fans in the group. Subsequently, Rauf lost his cool and charged towards an individual in a blue T-shirt. Even his wife’s desperate attempts to stop him failed. The other members of the group tried to stop the Pakistan pacer from engaging in a physical altercation.
After the group managed to separate the duo and send Haris across the hedge, the Pakistan pacer shouted, ‘Tera India nahi hai yeh (This is not your India),’ repeatedly in an attempt to emphasise that the fan was from India. But the man in question was heard replying ‘Pakistan se hu. (I’m from Pakistan).’
Following the incident, Rizwan was among many former and current Pakistan players to come out in Haris’ defence.
“It is irrelevant whether the person who disrespected Haris Rauf was from Pakistan or India. What truly matters is that this individual lacked values and manners. No one has the right to disrespect any human being, especially in front of their family members. Such appalling behavior must be stopped. Values like tolerance, respect, and compassion are increasingly rare commodities,” Rizwan wrote on X.
However, Rizwan’s post didn’t go down well by several Indian fans, who came out in numbers to criticise the Pakistan star.