Before “Kudrat ka Nizam”: 5 bizarre statements made by former Pakistan cricketers

Apart from being unpredictable on the cricket field, Pakistan’s cricketers, especially retired ones, are known for their eccentric views on the game and players. The Men in Green are currently taking on England in a seven-match T20I series at home. The tightly-contested series is currently locked at 2-2 after Pakistan clinched the fourth match by three runs.

Earlier, Pakistan were hammered by 63 runs in the third T20I in Karachi. Speaking after the loss, head coach Saqlain Mushtaq found himself in the midst of controversy for making a bizarre statement.

Asked for his views on Pakistan’s disappointing performance, he played down the defeat, attributing it to “Kudrat ka Nizam” (law of nature). His statement went as follows:

“Day and night, summer and winter, rains… they are all natural. Ye kudrat ka nizam hai. Just like that, sport is also the same. Win and loss will be there. We need to accept it, and we do.”

Saqlain received a lot of backlash for his inexplicable defense to Pakistan’s defeat in the third T20I. However, making outlandishly bizarre remarks is nothing new in Pakistan cricket.

Here are five not-so-smart statements made by Pakistan cricketers in the past.

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#1 “Would have not married if I were in his place” - Shoaib Akhtar on Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli (left) and Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is known for making controversial as well as absurd statements. But his view that Virat Kohli should not have married was the height of incongruity.

At the start of the year, when the Indian batter was struggling for runs, Akhtar told Dainik Jagran:

"Virat captained for six t oseven years and I was never in favor of his captaincy, I just wanted him to keep scoring 100-120 runs and keep the focus on his batting. I would have not even married if I were in his place. I had just scored runs and enjoyed cricket, these 10-12 years of cricket are different time and doesn't come again.

“I am not saying getting married is wrong but If you are playing for India, you would have enjoyed a time a little. Fans are crazy about Kohli and he had to maintain that love he is getting for the last 20 years."

Akhtar’s observation was based on the logic that pressure of marriage and having kids affect a player’s career significantly. He concluded his weird thoughts by stating:

"There is pressure from the children, of the family. As the responsibility increases, so does the pressure. Cricketers have a short career span of 14-15 years in which you stay at the peak for five-six years. Those years of Virat have passed, now he has to struggle.”

Kohli has proved Akhtar wrong. He made a strong comeback after a short break and was India’s leading run-getter in the Asia Cup. He credited wife Anushka Sharma for his renaissance and dedicated his first hundred after 1000 days to his family!

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#2 When Shahid Afridi claimed Indian players used to ask for forgiveness after losing against Pakistan

Former all-rounder Shahid Afridi. Pic: Getty Images

When it comes to making inexplicable claims, former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi is on par with Akhtar, or maybe one step ahead of him.

A couple of years back, he boasted that Indian players used to seek forgiveness from them after losing matches. Speaking on the Cric Cast show on YouTube, the controversial former cricketer commented:

“Unhe to theek-thaak mara hai humne (We’ve thrashed them a lot). Itna mara hai unhe ki match ke baad maafiyan mangi hai unhone (We’ve beaten them so much that they used to ask us for forgiveness after matches).

Afridi was brutally trolled by Indian fans for his statement. While Pakistan dominated India in the '80s and '90s, the Men in Blue have had the upper hand in the last two decades.

India have only lost one match to their arch-rivals in the World Cup (50-over and T20 World Cup combined).

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#3 “Don’t play T20 World Cup” - Aaqib Javed's advice to Shaheen Afridi

Shaheen Afridi (left) and Aaqib Javed.

Former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed is also among those who like to express "different" views. Left-arm seamer Shaheen Afridi’s fitness is currently a big talking point.

While he has been included in the squad for the T20 World Cup, doubts remain whether he will be fit in time for Pakistan’s first match against India on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Sharing his thoughts on Shaheen’s injury, Aaqib was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan:

“Fast bowlers like Shaheen Afridi are not born every day. My advice to Shaheen Afridi is not to play the upcoming T20 World Cup because Shaheen is more important than this World Cup.”

A couple of days back, Afridi shared a video of him bowling, even as he is undergoing rehabilitation for his knee injury.

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#4 Younis Khan’s bizarre defense of batters’ poor showing in practice games

Younis Khan is a former batting coach of the national side. Pic: Getty Images

During their tour of England in 2020, Pakistan played two practice matches, with teams consisting of players from their own squad.

The batters struggled miserably in both matches. At a press conference, then-batting coach Younis Khan made a rather strange defense of his batters. He commented:

“You see county bowlers are different. Our batsmen got the opportunity to play the swinging deliveries. You can say they couldn’t score much, but it’s mainly because they were playing against their own bowlers who know their weaknesses.”

Pakistan went on to lose the Test series 0-1 before squaring the three-match T20 series 1-1. The first game of the T20I series was abandoned due to rain.

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#5 Abdul Razzaq’s sexist statement on Nida Dar

A screengrab from the show featuring Abdul Razzaq and Nida Dar.

Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq found himself at the center of a controversy after his appearance on a show on Neo News last year. The program also featured Pakistan women’s cricketer Nida Dar.

During the discussion, Razzaq stated that Dar’s hands don’t feel feminine. Sharing his thoughts on women’s cricket, he made some regressive comments, which went as follows:

“Their field is as such. When they become cricketers, they strive to be as equal as their male counterparts, if not better than them. They want to prove that not only men, but they can also do it as well. The feeling (to get married) is gone by the time they excel. If you shake her hands, you won’t even feel she’s a girl.”

The former cricketer was slammed for his views on women’s cricket, with social media users hitting out at him for showing disrespect towards Dar.

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