Kamran Akmal shares details of animated exchange with Harbhajan Singh at WCL 2024

Ex-Pakistan a cricketer Kamran Akmal revealed details about a heated conversation with the former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh following i World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2024 game on Saturday (June 6). Akmal revealed that he apologized to Harbhajan for his comments last month, insisting that he had not intended to offend anyone.

The conversation between these cricketers took place about a month after the discussion on social media.

Akmal had done it racially insensitive commentary on Arshdeep Singh’s religion, prompting a strong response from Harbhajan, who urged Akmal to educate himself on Sikh history before uttering those words. Akmal responded by apologizing to Harbhajan and the Sikh community. He also emphasized that his comments were not intended to hurt anyone’s religious feelings.

“I made a mistake, it was the only topic that was discussed. It was not my intention, and I would never think negatively of anyone’s religion. I made that clear. It has to be done because I am young, they are old and they are the best player in Indian and world cricket,” Kamran was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

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Interview by Babar Azam

During their conversation in Birmingham, Akmal also expressed criticism of the Pakistan captain Babar Azam from fans and commentators. Harbhajan had earlier struggled to contain his laughter when he compared Babar to history Brian Lara.

Akmal asserted that apart from the class difference between Lara and Babar, mocking their fellow cricketers is wrong. He conveyed this sentiment to Harbhajan, who agreed that such situations should not have happened on either side. Akmal emphasized the importance of respecting each player’s unique abilities and contributions to the game.

“Then we talk, you may have seen Babar being teased. There is no doubt that Babar is the greatest batsman in Pakistan cricket; he has scored hundreds in Pakistan. There is no doubt that the class of Brian Lara and Babar are not the same, and should not be compared. But as cricketers we should not mock anyone. So I spoke about it, and he (Harbhajan) agreed that it shouldn’t have happened to him either,” Kamran concluded.

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