File photo of Harbhajan Singh and Kamran Akmal
Two of the finest former cricketers for their respective teams, Harbhajan Singh and Kamran Akmal came face-to-face during the World Championship of Legends match in England. The animated chat between the two made fans believe that the former Pakistan star’s controversial ‘Sikh joke’ at Arshdeep Singh was likely a topic of discussion. Kamran has now come out and admitted that it was a topic of discussion between the two. But, there was another topic which he raised during the chat, following which Harbhajan apologised.
Akmal had made a racist Sikh joke as a pundit for a Pakistani channel during the T20 World Cup 2024. As the video of his joke went viral on social media, Harbhajan took a sharp swipe at him. The former Pakistan wicket-keeper later issued an apology as well.
“(Mujhse galti hui thi aur wahi ek baat chal rahi thi) I made a mistake, and that was the only topic being discussed. It was never my intention, and I can never think negatively about anyone’s religion. I have made that clear. It should be done because I am younger, they are seniors and a great off-spinner in Indian and world cricket,” Akmal said as per Paktv.tv, opening up on the chat he had with Harbhajan.
During the T20 World Cup final between India and South Africa, Harbhajan Singh was also roped in as a pundit by Star Sports. During a show on the channel, Harbhajan produced a vivid laughter when the topic of a comparison between Pakistan’s Babar Azam and West Indies legend Brian Lara came up.
Kamran revealed that he reported the matter to Bhajji during the chat, highlighting how he was wrong to have mocked Babar in such a manner. The retired Indian spinner admitted his mistake on the matter.
“Then we talked, and you might have seen Babar being mocked. No doubt, Babar is also a great batsman in Pakistan cricket; he has scored the most hundreds for Pakistan. No doubt, Brian Lara and Babar’s class don’t match, and they shouldn’t be compared. But as cricketers, we shouldn’t mock anyone. So I talked about it, and he (Harbhajan) also agreed that it shouldn’t have happened from his side either,” he explained.
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