Former Pakistan cricketer Shoiab Akhtar lashed out as current skipper Sarfraz Ahmed after the latter was caught in the eye of a controversy following his racist comments against South Africa cricketer Andile Phehlukwayo.
During the Durban ODI between the two teams, Sarfraz was heard calling South Africa cricketer Andile Phehlukwayo ‘kaala’ and asked ‘where was his mother’. Sarfraz can be heard saying, “Abey Kaaley, Teri Ammi aaj kaha baithi huyeen hain, Hain??? Kya parhwa ke aya hai aaj tu?”
The sledge translates roughly to: “Hey black guy, where’s your mother sitting today? What [prayer] have you got her to say for you today?”
Following this, Akhtar took to social media to hit out at the Pakistan captain through a video that he uploaded on Twitter. He later tweeted: “I really hope that our captain gets away with minimal punishment out of this recent episode bcoz we need him for the coming World Cup as captain.”
Meanwhile, Sarfraz has apologised for the controversial on-field taunt and also denied that his comments were directed towards Phehlukwayo or anyone in particular.
“I wish to extend my sincere apologies to any person who may have taken offence from my expression of frustration which was unfortunately caught by the stump mic during yesterday’s game against SA,” the 31-year wrote on his Twitter account.
