Why Shoaib Malik’s praise of Mohammed Shami earned him backlash on Twitter

In an interactive session, Shoaib Malik stated that he felt Mohammed Shami was the best Indian bowler but unnecessarily added that his choice was not influenced by Shami’s religion.

Former Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik came under severe criticism from fans across the globe on Saturday after he opted for Mohammed Shami as the best bowler in the Indian team, before clarifying that the choice was not because Shami was Muslim.

Shoaib Malik (L) had attracted a lot of criticism after he involved religion while praising Mohammed Shami. (AFP)

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The unnecessary clarification didn’t go down well with the fans who slammed him on Twitter for involving religion in the conversation. The International Cricket Council had run an interactive session on the micro-blogging site with the hashtag #AskShoaib where cricket lovers were invited to ask questions to the Pakistani all-rounder.

A Twitterati, with the name of Baquer Ali had posted the question for Malik when the latter replied: “The best bowler in the Indian team is Mohammad Shami. Not because he is Muslim. I have seen his bowling and played against him also. For me I find him tough.” The response didn’t go down well with criticism following immediately after he spoke his mind.