Cricketer Harbhajan Singh today said that he regrets donation appeal for Shahid Afridi’s NGO amid coronavirus outbreak which he said he did on humanitarian grounds. In his conversation with India Today journalist Vikrant Gupta, Singh said that as PM Modi had said, coronavirus does not see boundaries and hence he had made a donation appeal for Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi’s NGO. However, following his distasteful comments on India as well as Prime Minister Modi where he referred to the PM as having a bigger ‘disease’ than coronavirus.
https://twitter.com/majorgauravarya/status/1261882004448014336?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwAfridi had gone to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and claimed that the Indian government under PM Modi is carrying out atrocities against the Indians in Kashmir, part of which is illegally occupied by Pakistan. “Inshallah he’ll have to be answerable here as well as in other world,” he had said.
Following his distasteful comments, cricketers like Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh came under fire for having appealed for donation for Afridi’s NGO few weeks back. They were questioned whether they agree to his anti-India views speaking of division of Kashmir and insulting the Prime Minister of India.
Harbhajan Singh further said that he appealed for the NGO on humanitarian grounds. But Afridi’s message is not appropriate at all. “He should speak for his country, why interfere in our matters? Why drag India into it? Why drag our Prime Minister into it? I have nothing to do with Shahid Afridi or his NGO or anyone who speaks against our country. He should first look at his own country. Our country is great,” he said.
“If anyone speaks against my country or countrymen or my prime minister it is not acceptable, whoever it is,” Singh said. He even apologised to everyone who has been hurt by his action and promised that he will never speak for anyone who spreads hate against India. He said that he has realised his friendship was limited to cricket field but it is no longer there.