India's World Cup-winning bowler Harbhajan Singh made news for the wrong reasons on Sunday. The spin-bowler was criticised online for his misogynist comments on Anushka Sharma and Athiya Shetty -- the life partners of Indian internationals Virat Kohli and KL Rahul respectively.
Harbhajan Singh, part of the Hindi commentary box for Sunday's ICC ODI World Cup 2023 final between Australia and India, made the said statement when Athiya and Anushka were shown on camera.
Reacting to the two women interacting with each other, Harbhajan Singh reportedly said on air, "Aur yeh main soch raha tha ki baat cricket ki ho rahi hai ya filmon ki. Kyunki filmon ke barein mein toh janta nahi kitni samajh hogi (And I was wondering whether they were talking about cricket or films. Because I am not sure how much understanding they have about cricket)."
What’s with Harbhajan Singh’s misogynist comments on Anushka and Athiya?! “I don’t know if they’re talking about cricket or films, I don’t think they know much about cricket” Can the others in the commentary box ask him to stick to talking about those on the field? #CWC23Final pic.twitter.com/ubM25GscnG
— Shilpa (@shilpakannan) November 19, 2023
Soon after the statement got clipped and shared on the internet, Harbhajan, often called Bhajji, was called out by many on social media for his "sexist" mindset. Some X (formerly Twitter) demanded an apology from him.
harbhajan singh in the comm box just said "idk if they're (anushka and athiya) talking about cricket or films, I don't think they have much knowledge about cricket"#Worlds2023#INDvsAUSfinalpic.twitter.com/r5GhJ2gnjZ
— 133*𓃵 (@133_NotOut) November 19, 2023
