London, May 27: Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik came under attack from Twitter users for his comment of "not because he is a muslim guy" when answering questions from fans ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.
Malik, who is married to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, was on the International Cricket Council's (ICC) official Twitter page last night (May 26) to answer questions from fans.
Under the hashtag #AskShoaib there were questions and one user Baquer Ali tweeted to Malik asking, "Who is the best bowler in India?".
To this, Malik replied, "The best bowler in the Indian team is Mohammed Shami. Not because he's a Muslim guy. I have seen his bowling, played against him also. For me, I find him tough. That's why."
.@Baquerali2 #AskShoaib pic.twitter.com/mQdF1Zp6jH
— ICC (@ICC) May 26, 2017
Malik bringing in religion when giving his opinioin about India's "best bowler", created a bit of controversy on the social media. Several users hit out at the former Pakistan captain.
India and Pakistan are set to face off in the Champions Trophy on Sunday (June 4). Virat Kohli-led India are the defending champions. Malik is part of Pakistan team.
Here are some of the reactions from fans
@ICC @Baquerali2 Would ve agreed with him had he not entered religion on it. No need to get into religion to express ur fav.
— Avhilash Adhikari☆ (@Wild_Material) May 26, 2017
@ICC @Baquerali2 'Not because he is a Muslim guy'??
— Anshuman Jha (@anshumanjha_98) May 26, 2017
Totally unnecessary..
@ICC @Baquerali2 Don't drag religion into sports..
— Dhanush🥉 (@dhanu_nm) May 27, 2017
As a senior player maintain some standard😠😡@MirzaSania teach him something
@anshumanjha_98 @ICC @Baquerali2 Statements like this are unwanted and unwarranted. Reason why people get instigated!
— Roshan Todi (@roshantodi) May 26, 2017
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