After his controversial comment on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan stirred up controversy, former Pakistani cricketer Abdul Razzaq has issued an apology. While discussing the intentions of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Razzaq made a reference to the actor. After the backlash, he appeared on TV to share, “Yesterday, we were talking about cricket coaching and intentions. I had a slip of the tongue and mistakenly took Aishwarya Rai’s name. I apologise to her personally. I did not intend to hurt anyone’s sentiment.” In a tweet, he also wrote, “I am very ashamed of yesterday and I realise I said very bad words. I apologise to everyone, please forgive me (sic).” The events that led to the controversy date back to a press conference held recently where Razzaq said, “While I was playing, I was aware of my captain Younis Khan’s good intentions. That gave me strength and confidence, and with Allah’s help, I was able to perform well for Pakistani cricket. We don’t really intend to improve and enhance the players, in my opinion. That will never happen if you believe that I will marry Aishwarya [Rai] to have a good-natured and moral child. Therefore, you must first amend your intentions.” His comments did not go down well with many, including former cricketers from Pakistan, who criticised him.

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