Irfan Pathan Reveals How Indian Cricketers' Were Attacked in Pakistan

Amid hullaballoo over the crowd behaviour in the Narendra Modi Stadium during the recent India vs Pakistan World Cup match, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has downplayed the incident stating that the Indian cricketers had faced similar issues when they had travelled to Pakistan.

On Thursday during the India vs Bangladesh match, Irfan Pathan, who was on the commentary box, said, "We were playing a game in Peshawar, a fan suddenly threw an iron nail at me which struck under my eye. We never made an issue out of that and always appreciated their hospitality. Pakistan should stop making issues on crowd behaviour in India."

The former Indian bowler on X further shared the screenshots of headlines that highlighted that Indians were too in similar situations in Pakistan. He said "I m still saying it happens. There were many good fans were there who chanted Balaji Zara dheere chalo with love before this trip. But this incident happened too. we moved on and focused on winning rather than crying about it."

First, Pakistan captain Babar Azam was booed by the crowd in the Ahmedabad stadium during the toss. Later, a clip went viral where the spectators were seen chanting "Jai Shree Ram" as Pakistan's wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan was heading back to the pavilion.

These two incident were criticised by a section of Indians. Noted journalist Rajdeep Sardesai disapproved of the crowd's behaviour and said, "Ahmedabad crowd booing @babarazam258 when he begins speaking at the toss . Not done. Sorry to all those in the city of my birth.. this is NOT cricket. #INDvsPAK."

Tamil Nadu sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin condemned fans for chanting "Jai Shree Ram" and said, "India is renowned for its sportsmanship and hospitality. However, the treatment meted out to Pakistan players at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is unacceptable and a new low. Sports should be a unifying force between countries, fostering true brotherhood. Using it as a tool to spread hatred is condemnable."