'Chupke Chupke' actor Arslan Naseer called out for condescending commentary on Women’s cricket team

Cricket is inarguably the most-watched sport in the country however, the hype for it is primarily centred around men’s cricket only. Given the lack of academies, resources, audience and societal privileges, it is unfair to compare and demotivate the girls in green on their performance in the international field. Not getting the memo, Arslan Naseer, a YouTuber turned actor, posted a tone-deaf video commenting on the recent match of Pakistan’s women’s cricket team with India’s women’s cricket team for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022.

The Chupke Chupke actor compared statistics on how the girls in green are incompetent and do not put up a fair fight. He called the match “one-sided” and made fun of the team captain Bismah Maroof coming in the field with her baby girl Fatima. His condescending commentary not only disregards the efforts of the team but also makes baseless illogical arguments. Netizens were fuelled against him and called him “trash” for his ignorant dialogue and for masquerading his insulting comments as "critique". 

Sports analyst Hasan Cheema took to Twitter to highlight the issue and pointed out his responsibility as a public figure given his massive fan following and influence. He wrote, “[I] usually ignore YouTubers and stuff, especially guys I have never heard of before, but turns out he's got 100k+ followers on Twitter alone. You hear the content and realize that there’s no possibility of a better dialogue in Pakistan’s cricket discourse.”

Echoing Arslan’s comments, a user commented to explain his stance saying he's only criticising the girls for not putting up a fight against women who are also from Asia and face somewhat similar struggles and challenges to play sports.

Cheema called the comment “illiterate” and went on to say, “Please check BCCI’s budget breakdown, see both their remuneration and the amount of cricket they play. Compare that to here. The fact that occasionally the matches are not one-sided is something worth celebrating [instead of criticising and degrading.]”

Another user called the actor “trash”  and wrote, “This type of behaviour needs to be called out. We live in a desi typical society where cricket culture isn't the same for women like men. They don't play street cricket like them. Shame on you. Not everything is to be joked about.”

For those who defended Arslan, a user gave a lowdown with statistics and facts to prove why the vlogger's "critique" is actually plain degradation.

Arslan first cemented his place in the world of entertainment through YouTube with his comic analysis on social issues and topics. He then ventured into acting as a profession with the 2021 Danish Nawaz directorial Chupke Chupke alongside Ayeza Khan, Osman Khalid Butt and Aymen Saleem in pivotal roles.

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