Kolkata: Hour before the much-awaited India-Pakistan match, Canada-based author Tarek Fatah, tweets a picture of Pakistan team captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mickey Arthur and Inzamam ul Haq inspecting the pitch ahead of the India-Pakistan match. However, in the tweet, he makes a cheap pot shot at Inzamam, who is now the chief selector of Pakistani team, by terming him as a “mulla” who had been summoned to bless the pitch ahead of the India-Pakistan match of World Cup 2019.
Fatah, who is much followed in India and liked by the right-wingers for his acidic comments and critique of both Pakistan and Islam, however, was in for a surprise, as his recent shot on Pakistan backfired, with many Indians ‘educating’ him about Inzamam and how he is a ‘legend’ in South Asian Cricketing World. Many even chose to reprimand the Canadian author for hatemongering.
“The @CricketWcup2019 witnesses a bizarre spectacle only Pakistanis can offer. Capt. @SarfarazA_54 Ahmed brings out their 13th Man, a Mullah to bless the pitch for tomorrow’s match against India. Thank you @Sachin_anshu06 for sharing this gem. #INDvsPAK #PAKvsIND #WorldCup2019,” tweeted Fatah from his Twitter handle, on June 15.
The tweet, which has got about 1.6k likes and 2.7 retweets, also witnessed a battery of replies, some criticising, some educating and some reprimanding Tatah. Interestingly, it was the Indian followers of his that took on the task of educating him about the legendary batsman.
Roshan Rai, who calls himself a cricketoholic, while replying to Fatah, tweeted, “Funny how we grew up watching Inzimam’s batting and his lazy elegance and considered him as the legend of the game and a hatemonger tells us that his only identity is that he is a ‘mullah’. Bhai aaram kar, not everything is about hatred.”
While Manas G A replied to Fatah in a reprimanding note, “Inzamam-ul-Haq is a South Asian legend. He has every right to inspect the pitch as he is Pakistan’s chief selector. But, of course, what would a Canadian know?”
The hate mongering author also lost several followers for his hate comment.
And many even asked the Canadian author to verify news before tweeting. “Oh God! I can’t follow you anymore Sir. It’s the third time I have seen you sharing something without verifying. FYI, that’s Inzamam Ul Haq. One of cricket’s greats. And another thing. Sports should always be kept away from all this,” tweeted The Whisperer.
One Manish Rao even asked him to brush up his cricket knowledge. “Sir, you’re an author, so you read a lot, but it seems your readings on the game of cricket’s limited. So follow the game for a few years, read a lot about it, and then write something about it. You can access profiles of most of the cricketers on Cricbuzz and Cricinfo. All the best,” tweeted Rao.
While many replies were made unavailable, there were many followers who complained of having been blocked by Fatah for either reprimanding him for his uncalled post. “And I am blocked,” tweeted Radhika Misra, after her post in which she reminded him that the man in question was Inzamam. A. Rehman too complained of being block by the author.
