Malala Yousafzai takes a dig at Team India, Twitterati says it's "hate towards India"
LONDON: The opening ceremony of the ICC World Cup 2019 had brought cricketers and celebrities from across the 10 participating nations together for a fun gully cricket challenge for 60-second.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai, who attended the event in front of Buckingham Palace in London, couldn't help herself from taking a jab against India.
As the former Indian skipper Anil Kumble and Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar were representing India in the game, Malala had showed up for Pakistan in the challenge along with former cricketer Azhar Ali.
After the game, when the host Shibani Dandekar asked Malala Yousafzai about the performance of her team, she took a dig at India. "Pakistan, we were okay, not too bad. We came seventh. But at least we were not last like India," she said.
She had quickly added that, she hopes that the game unites people and is played in the right spirit.
You praise Pakistan, a nation where you can't go.
— VJ (@vinayak_jain) May 30, 2019
You demean India like a typical brainwashed Pakistani, yet India is a nation which you can safely visit.
Stop being petty and disgusting @Malala. pic.twitter.com/MGugFTKCfV
Mala representing #Pakistan at #CWC19 opening ceremony. pic.twitter.com/poV7cBzPay
— Pakistan Cricket & PSL Freaks (@PslFreaks) May 29, 2019
The comment which was made in funny remark, was not accepted by everyone in the right spirit, as some people on Twitter were calling it a display of "hate towards India".
Yousafzai, is also an advocate for women's cricket, she had stressed the importance of women taking up sports. "Right now were are seeing more and more women taking part in sporting activities. In Pakistan, we have some amazing cricketers, including Sana Mir. These role models are inspiring women to believe in themselves that they are capable of anything. Women should engage more in sports and we all have to contribute to that and encourage women and girls," Yousafzai said.