Judge Sarfraz on his game, not his ability to speak English: Hamza Ali Abbasi

Actor urges Pakistanis to get over their post-colonial mindset and PCB to hire professional translators

After a very surprising win against Sri Lanka that landed Team Pakistan in the semifinals of ICC Champions Trophy, the nation rejoiced and lauded the performances of captain Sarfraz Ahmed and bowler Mohammad Amir.



While making his way to the post-match press conference Sarfraz's candid statement regarding the reporters present in the press meet has been the talk of the town. The batsman had no idea that the camera was recording and he ended up saying “Saray English Ke Hain...”, showing his concern about the questions being asked in English. He asked it twice before the press conference started officially.

Like many other cases in Pakistan's cricketing history, even Sarfraz was judged, mocked and made of fun of his weak spoken English.

Guess wt #sarfrazahmed thinking right now???
ummm inshaallah boys played well.....ke aage kya bolu????#INDvPAK #ChampionsTrophy2017

— Pranita Akotkar (@pranita_akotkar) June 4, 2017

#Pakistani team 👩‍✈️ #sarfrazahmed said Allah helped us that was why v cud win.
Agree...team dont deserve vistory acctually#PakVsSL #CT17

— M. Noshad Ali (@NoshadJourno) June 12, 2017

Taking the trolls and Pakistan Cricket Board's failure to provide an interpreter into account, actor Hamza Ali Abbasi took to Facebook to give Pakistanis a reality check.

"It is heart-breaking to see the reactions from some people, on how he was ridiculed for not speaking a language that is not his mother tongue. It is imperative for us to get rid of this slave mentality and it is not necessary that every Pakistani should speak English," he started.

"The team is there to excel at their game, not to learn how to speak fluent English. So, if you want to criticise on something, criticise on their cricketing skills," he went on.



"Chinese, Russians, Japanese do not speak English and they are some of the most defining players in the world. Therefore, the colonial mindset that we have and the inferiority complex that we suffer from is beyond me and indeed very tragic," he continued.

"If there's someone who can deliver this message to Sarfraz, please convey that you should never be embarrassed about not being able to speak a language that is not your mother tongue. The decent way to go about it is that you can always get a translator," he added.

He then said that a cricketer should be able to excel at his game, not at a language.

Watch the video here:



It is indeed baffling to see people judging a hero because of his speaking power! The 14-second long clip went viral on the internet.


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