Harbhajan Singh gets trolled online for sexist remark on Anushka Sharma, Athiya Shetty during World Cup 2023 match
NEW DELHI,NOV 20 : Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh received severe criticism online for making misogynistic comment at Bollywood actresses Anushka Sharma and Athiya Shetty during World Cup 2023 final match at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
The video of Singh, part of the Hindi commentary team, goes viral where he was heard saying, “Aur yeh main soch raha tha ki baat cricket ki ho rahi hai ya filmon ki. Kyunki cricket ke barein mein toh janta nahi kitni samajh hogi. (And I was thinking whether the conversation is happening about cricket or films. Because I am not sure how much understanding they have about cricket ).”
Both Anushka and Athiya were present in the stadium to support their husbands, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, respectively. Ironically, his own wife, Geeta Basra is a former Bollywood star.
As soon as the video went viral, netizens slamed the former player.
“Very sexist comment by @harbhajan_singh , not expected from you. “idk if they’re (anushka and athiya) talking about cricket or films, I don’t think they have much knowledge about cricket,” one tweeted.
“Hindi commentators openly mocking #anushkasharma on her understanding of cricket. Hum kab sudhrenge bhai, woh sirf Anushka nahi hai, she’s the wife of #ViratKohli, who has created history recently, and mocking someone while so many people are watching is absolutely ridiculous,” another user tweeted.
“Harbhajan Singh needs to think before he speaks. What the hell do you mean by saying that Anushka and Athiya will be talking about movies and not about cricket because they have little understanding of the game. Their spouses play cricket so why won’t they have the knowledge?” another tweeted.
“harbhajan singh in the comm box just said “idk if they’re (anushka and athiya) talking about cricket or films, I don’t think they have much knowledge about cricket, ” another tweeted.
It wasn’t long before veteran cricketer Sunil Gavaskar made a rather unusual remark. He said “Inhone lockdown me to bas Anushka [Sharma] ki bowling ki practice ki hain (Virat has been only practising bowling with Anushka during the lockdown).
Taking to her Instagram stories, the actor wrote, “That, Mr Gavaskar, your message is distasteful is a fact but I would love for you to explain why you thought of making such a sweeping statement on a wife accusing her for her husband’s game? I’m sure over the years you have respected the private lives of every cricketer while commentating on the game. Don’t you think you should have equal amount of respect for me and us?”
-PTI
