A complaint has been filed by an Indian lawyer with the International Cricket Council against Mohammad Rizwan for offering prayer on the field and dedicating Pakistan’s victory over Sri Lanka to the people of Gaza, Times Now reported.
Rizwan scored a match-winning century against Sri Lanka, which he dedicated to the people of Gaza in light of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
Vineet Jindal, an advocate of Supreme Court of India lodged a complaint with the ICC against the Pakistani cricketer.
“This is a complaint about Pakistan Cricket Player, Mohammad Rizwan, who was seen offering namaz on the cricket field during his team’s opening match of the ongoing ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 on Friday (October 6) against the Netherlands in Hyderabad,” the complaint read.
Jindal went on to add that Rizwan offering prayer on the cricket field amid many Indians was symbolic of the intentional depiction of his religion which stands against the spirit of the game.
“This very act of the player raises questions about the spirit of the match and raises a question of the ideology, the player follows while playing the match. The act of displaying his religion by Mohammed Rizwan purposefully depicts his intent to message that he is a Muslim, defeating the spirit of sports,” he said.
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Rizwan was seen offering prayers amid the field while his teammates were waiting for the drinks during the break, he added.
For him, the Pakistani wicket-keeping batter’s statement in his press conference regarding the dedication of his victory to the people of Gaza further attested to his religious and political ideology.
While mentioning Pakistan’s 10-wicket victory over India in T20 World Cup 2021, Jindal said that “Rizwan had offered namaz on the ground when Babar Azam-led side defeated India by 10 wickets in the ICC T20 World Cup ‘Super 12’ game.”
