Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria, who has been in the headlines for the past few days, engaged in a war of words with Indian journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani over her comments on the behavior of fans during World Cup matches.
During the recent ICC World Cup matches, some videos went viral on social media. In the videos, some fans were allegedly seen heckling some cricketers. Many people have criticised the behaviour of the fans.
Yesterday, Arfa Khanum also wrote, “Deplorable behaviour of many cricket fans during World Cup matches, makes me feel embarrassed &ashamed as an Indian. This petty, insecure & majoritarian approach towards sports which was meant to bring people together, is symbolic of India Modi-RSS have created in last one decade.”
Reacting to this, Danish Kaneria wrote, “Come to my country Pakistan if you are feeling ashamed to be an Indian. India doesn’t need people like you. I am sure many people in India will be happy to sponsor this trip.”
The war of words between Arfa Khanum and Danish Kaneria did not end there. In response to the Pakistan cricketer’s comment, the journalist wrote, “Danish Kaneria has unleashed an online lynch mob on me and I am trending on Twitter. Sad to see an intl cricketer celebrated by fans from different religions turning into a communal troll. Rest assured, I’m not leaving my country for Pakistan or any other place in the world.”
Reacting to this, Danish Kaneria wrote, “‘Lynch’ ‘mob’ ‘communal’ ‘religious’ ‘troll’ ‘unleashed’! Don’t use these propaganda words for me. Did I talk about communalism in my tweet? No! If you don’t like Pakistan, simply say – ‘Danish, I don’t like Pakistan’. That’s it!”
Justifying her earlier response, Arfa Khanum wrote, “Yes,every word of your tweet was communal. Asking an Indian Muslim to ‘go to Pakistan’ is as communal& majoritarian as asking a Pakistani Hindu to convert to Islam. It is telling the minority people that you don’t belong here or not until you convert to majority religion Got it?”
Asking the journalist to end the debate, the Pakistan cricketer wrote, “Just show me a single tweet in which you praised Bharat and its culture.”
Who is Danish Kaneria?
Danish Kaneria is a former Pakistan right-arm leg spinner who played 61 test matches for the Pakistan team. He was the second Hindu to represent Pakistan in international cricket.
For the past few days, he has been in the headlines after alleging that he was a victim of relentless communal taunts from fellow players on and off the field.
Arfa Khanum Sherwani
Arfa Khanum Sherwani is an Indian journalist and a senior editor of The Wire.
Born on November 1, 1980, in Bulandshahr, UP, she obtained a diploma in journalism from Aligarh Muslim University and completed doctoral studies at Jamia Millia Islamia.
The war of words between the Pakistan cricketer and the Indian journalist over cricket fan behavior during the World Cup has been ongoing for the past few hours.
