Sports

‘Na Run Karte Hai Na Catch Pakarte Hai’: Journalist Gets Slammed by Sarfaraz Ahmed for Trolling Pakistan Team

August 31, 2022
Bharat Times English News

The India-Pakistan clash is an unrivaled patriotic extravaganza that takes place both on and off the field. It’s not uncommon to hear passionate fans and pundits debating before and after the game. The winner is frequently extolled in glory, whereas the loser is crucified with harsh criticism. On Sunday, team India thumped Pakistan by five wickets in their Asia Cup opener, and it was obvious which team would be facing the wrath of the public.

Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed defended his team’s performance and slammed a female Pakistani journalist who criticized the Babar Azam-led side. Sarfaraz penned a post on Twitter, for the “so-called female journalist” for her comments about the Babar Azam-led side having a fielder less outside the 30-yard circle in the last three overs of their Asia Cup 2022 opener due to a slow over-rate.

Sarfaraz emphasized the cramps suffered by Pakistan bowlers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah as a result of the heat and humidity, which hindered their over-rate and resulted in them having just four fielders on the boundary for the 18th over of the match.

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“Pakistan had a disadvantage after the 17th over, 5 fielders were inside the circle because of the slow over rate. A so-called female journalist on national TV bashing Pakistan team after a fighting match and saying na run karte hai na catch pakarte hai (Neither do they score runs nor do they complete catches). Kamal hai bhi (I wonder),” Sarfaraz tweeted.

Sarfaraz did not mention the name of the journalist or the show in his tweet, but it was clear that he was irritated by the criticism levelled at Pakistani players following a hard-fought match against India, which the latter won only in the last over.

Fans had mixed reactions to Sarfaraz’s tweet, here is how the Twitterati debated his comments:

One fan was quick to highlight that India was also penalized for slow-over rate and this could not be used as an excuse by the Pakistan team.

While another fan questioned the fitness of the players, “They had cramps in a 20-over match, are they unfit? Is this the way we play international cricket?”

There were many fans that were content with the Pakistan side for their relentless performance. One fan said, “Proud of my boys. Just a bit short of runs with the bat but otherwise it was an amazing fight till the last over.”

Another fan backed Pakistan and Sarfaraz. “That person (female journalist) has no sense of cricket. Our team played as a unit,” the user wrote.

ICC introduced a new regulation in January to penalize teams for slow-over rates. Under normal conditions, a fielding team must be in a position to begin the last over of a T20I innings within 85 minutes – the time set by the ICC. If the side fails to do so, they will be forced to place one fielder less on the boundary line for the number of overs they were short of.

The officials did consider Rauf and Shah’s cramps, but despite the extra time, Pakistan fell three overs short of the mark and had to field a player less on the boundary which eventually cost them the match.

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