Pakistan cricket great Abdul Razzaq triggered a huge controversy as he insulted Indian actress Aishwarya Rai while critcising the performance of Babar Azam’s men in the Cricket World Cup 2023. Razzaq’s comments triggered a huge storm on social media that saw him earn plenty of flak, not just from fans but also from a few cricketers from both sides of the border. Seeing the controversy over his comments spirlling, the retired cricketer issued an apology, saying his comment on Aishwarya Rai was only a ‘slip of tongue’.

Razzaq appeared on a Pakistani TV channel, issuing a public apology on the matter. “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,” he said on SAMAA TV.

Abdur Razzaq’s public apology to Aishwariya Rai after Shahid Afridi urges him!#SamaaTV #Pakistan #ShahidAfridi #AbdurRazzaq #AishwariyaRai #WorldCup23 #Cricket #Cricket23 #ICCCricketWorldCup2023 #ZorKaJor@SAfridiOfficial @Mushy_online @yousaf1788 @umairbashirr @sawerapasha pic.twitter.com/dZksfgJmZZ

— SAMAA TV (@SAMAATV) November 14, 2023

The likes of Razzaq, Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul were all present in a press conference when Razza had said, “Here, I am referring to their (PCB’s) intention. While I was playing, I was aware of my captain Younis Khan’s good intentions. That gave me strength and confidence, and with Allah’s help, I was able to perform well for Pakistani cricket.”

He had further added: “We don’t really intend to improve and enhance the players, in my opinion. That will never happen if you believe that I will marry Aishwarya (Rai) to have a good-natured and moral child. Therefore, you must first amend your intentions.”

The Pakistan cricket team’s performance in the World Cup has seen many of their former players take to social media and different TV channels as pundits, sharing their critical views.

While there are some who have drawn plaudits for their analysis, there remain some who made headlines because of the nature of their comments.