Comment: Why Shoaib Akhtar deserves condemnation, not praise

Pakistan’s legendary pacer Shoaib Akhtar, a man who has travelled the world and gained significant influence, narrated a 15-year-old incident of blatant discrimination within the national side. One or two players of the team did not wish to have dinner with fellow teammate and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, a Hindu by religion.

Racism and discrimination are two of the biggest issues in the world today. Not only do they result in the exclusion of a minority group, they add significant trauma and hamper the development of individuals too.

In circumstances such as these, trivialising incidents of discrimination should receive widespread condemnation.

Akhtar was brave in calling out that moment. His narration created a storm where people started questioning the overall culture of the national team of Pakistan along with our society’s ethics. Questioning and calling out morally compromised incidents such as these, is the only way towards progress.

However there were many who criticised him for bringing disrepute to the country. This stems from a national inclination to suppress heinous incidents such as harassment, racism and discrimination. This process of suppression allows these evils to exist in society unhindered and the culprits can roam free because the perceived honour of the country is more important than the victims.

The speedster, in the face of this criticism, came up with a more problematic response, where he claimed that his comments had been blown out of proportion and that he deserved praise for suppressing the racist elements within the team.

He went on to state that every team in the world had one or two racist players, while trying to normalise the incident. Boards around the world such as the England Cricket Board (ECB), Cricket South Africa (CSA) and CA (Cricket Australia) would beg to differ. It is alarming that such an influential figure could believe that there are one or two racist players in every international playing XI of the world today. Statements like these normalise the culture of racism and give a clean chit to the offenders as the outliers in a generally tolerant group.

We can put our heads in the ground like an ostrich and pretend racism and discrimination do not exist in our society but minorities in Pakistan are left to fend for themselves and are marginalised at every corner. A quick review of the number of minorities at the time of independence to the current age speaks volumes about the atrocities perpetrated by nationalistic goons against the minorities.

Many players have taken up Youtube in order to garner followers and remain relevant in the cricket fraternity. However, these players must realise the influence and the responsibilities that come with it. Their words matter and shape the narrative of their followers.

So where did Akhtar go wrong? It took him 15 years to speak about such an outright despicable and discriminatory incident; however, it is commendable that he spoke about it.

But Akhtar did suppress a heinous incident 15 years ago, and he is now actively trying to trivialise it in order to avoid criticism. In the process, he is protecting the culprits.

Racism till this day remains a major part of our cricketing fraternity. The latest Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) 5 draft had a moment that went undetected by the majority of the nation. Pakistan’s former captain Ramiz Raja pointed to the name Jaahid Ali, stating that this player from Bangladesh would be an interesting addition to the league. When the host informed Raja that the individual was actually a cricketer from Karachi, he condescendingly stated that his name should have been spelt as Zahid instead.

On live television being aired around the country and on a global platform of Youtube, Raja asked why the broadcasters had written Jaahid to which the host replied that was how he spelled his name. The visibly flustered host quickly tried to change the topic as Raja persisted that the name should be Zahid.

For those that do not find this incident problematic, this is the exact frame of mind that this article tries to point out. Racism and discrimination is so engrained and prevalent in our society that we do not process the information that is right in front of us.

Even 15 years later, Akhtar calling it out is a great initiative that could spark a debate on the matter. But his follow-up video where he asks for praise for suppressing it deserves condemnation and not praise.