Venkatesh Prasad slams Waqar Younis for ‘jihadi mindset’ after his ‘namaz in front of Hindus' remark

Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad slammed former Pakistan cricketer Waqar Younis for his controversial statement that opener Mohammad Rizwan offering namaz “in front of Hindus was very special to him".

While cricket fans across both nations have lauded Pakistan's dominant performance against India in their opening T20 World Cup match, former pacer Waqar finding joy in something beyond cricket has left fans unimpressed.

"The manner in which Babar and Rizwan batted, the strike-rotation, the look on their faces, it was amazing. The best thing, what Rizwan did, Mashalla, he offered the Namaz on the ground surrounded by Hindus, that was really something very special for me," said Waqar on ARY News.

"Rizwan offered Namaz during #INDvPAK match in middle of Hindus was most satisfying thing Mashallah, even more than his batting"

- Waqar Younis & Shoaib Akhtar discusspic.twitter.com/ELTVJSTqh4 — Pakistan Untold (@pakistan_untold) October 26, 2021

Notably, the shocking statement didn’t go down well with Venkatesh Prasad, who on Twitter called out Younis for demonstrating his 'Jihadi mindset'. He further called him 'Shameless' by writing, ''Hinduon ke beech me khade hoke namaaz padi, that was very very special for me" - Waqar. Takes jihadi mindset of another level to say this in a sport. What a shameful man.''

"Hinduon ke beech me khade hoke namaaz padi, that was very very special for me" - Waqar .
Takes jihadi mindset of another level to say this in a sport. What a shameful man. — Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) October 26, 2021

Earlier, cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle took to Twitter and wrote, “For a person of Waqar Younis' stature to say that watching Rizwan offering namaz in front of Hindus was very special to him, is one of the most disappointing things I have heard. A lot of us try hard to play such things down and talk up sport and to hear this is terrible.”

For a person of Waqar Younis' stature to say that watching Rizwan offering namaz in front of Hindus was very special to him, is one of the most disappointing things I have heard. A lot of us try hard to play such things down and talk up sport and to hear this is terrible.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 26, 2021

Meanwhile, after facing backlash from the cricket fraternity and fans, Waqar on Wednesday (October 27, 2021) apologised for his derogatory remark.

The former Pakistan pacer tendered an apology through his official Twitter account and said it was not intended at all. 

He said, "In the heat of the moment, I said something which I did not mean which has hurt the sentiments of many. I apologise for this, this was not intended at all, a genuine mistake." 

Younis added that sports unites people regardless of race, colour, or religion.

In the heat of the moment, I said something which I did not mean which has hurt the sentiments of many. I apologise for this, this was not intended at all, genuine mistake. Sports unites people regardless of race, colour or religion. #apologies  — Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) October 26, 2021

Earlier on Sunday, Pakistan openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam put on a remarkable show as their team thrashed India by 10 wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Rizwan (79*) and Babar (68*) didn't give any chance to Indian bowlers to come on top as the two batsmen dominated the proceedings and Pakistan chased down the target of 152 without losing a wicket. It, notably, was the first time that India has lost a T20I by ten wickets and coincidentally, this was also the first time that Pakistan has won a T20I by ten wickets.