Ahead of Pakistan vs New Zealand game Sarfaraz Ahmed, who has faced severe criticism post-India loss on June 16 in Manchester. So much so, he has coupled embarrassment personal which has left him fuming. Sarfaraz while talking to the ICC’s digital insider, Zainab Abbass revealed he didn’t want to mess this up in the heat of a moment.
Earlier, Sarfraz Ahmed and Co have struggled against the Men in Blue at the ICC World Cup 2019. Sarfaraz also drew flak for deciding against to bat against mighty India at the Old Trafford.
However, despite facing scathing, Sarfaraz has received ample support over the Twitter following the viral fat shaming video.
Considered as a mother of all battles, India batted first to post formidable 336 for five in 50 overs. Also, Rohit Sharma alongside KL Rahul stitched 123 runs for the first wickets. Rahul and Virat Kohli’s fifties further piled up miseries for Pakistan bowlers.
In reply, the revised game saw Pakistan could post 212 for six in 40 overs. Thus lost the match by 89 runs as per the Duckworth Lewis (DLS) method.
Well, Sarfaraz, in a video statement, revealed he found his wife, Khushbakht Shah crying in the hotel room after accessing the video on Twitter.
The viral video revealed a Pakistani fan referring to Sarfraz ‘fat as a pig’ when the skipper was carrying his son, Abdullah in his arms. However, the fan has extended an apology.
Apart from Sarfaraz, Pakistan players’ families were the target. Besides, the critic lambasted level of players’ fitness while questioning their late-night moment during the ongoing ICC World Cup.
The incident unfolded when Sarfaraz visited one of the malls in the UK. The video revealed a fan recording a video, has questioned Sarfaraz before fat shaming him in a video.
However, Sarfaraz had a look at the fan, before walk away from the scene.
While speaking to the ICC, 32-year-old Sarfaraz maintained the fans are passionate, and they want their respective teams to win. He has also thanked the community for extended support.
The right-handed middle-order batsman Sarfaraz revealed he had witnessed his wife crying while watching the video of a fan hurling expletives at Sarfaraz. To which Sarfraz responded that they face such things when they don’t do well on the field. He further agreed that they are supposed to withstand the heat if they end up on such a bad note.
“When I went back to the hotel I saw my wife was crying after watching the video. I tried to explain to her that this is just one video and that we have had people walk up to us and tell things. This is nothing serious we must be strong. All of this is a part of life, when we don’t perform well we will have to go through all this. Not just family members whoever saw the video have reacted against it. I would like to thank everyone who sent me tweets and messages of support and love on social media,” Sarfraz told ICC.
Currently, Pakistan is seventh on the points table with five points in six games. They’re playing New Zealand in the ongoing game at the Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Here’s the detailed interview in a video from the ICC:
?? captain @SarfarazA_54, in a disarmingly honest chat with our insider @ZAbbasOfficial, admits that fan reactions after the loss to India hurt him, but thanks those who stood by him and his team.#WeHaveWeWill pic.twitter.com/f6Q8yBeBgu
— ICC (@ICC) June 26, 2019