Deciding to bat first turned out to be the sensible thing to do. I think the Pakistanis bowled brilliantly, better, collectively, than our lot, but Dhoni had gambled that runs on the board, batting first, would be worth a few wickets in a World Cup final and he was dead right. Umar Gul was unplayable: to bowl yorker after yorker at nearly ninety miles an hour in the bedlam of a Twenty20 game, you have to be a very superior player. And Shoaib captained like a young genius: the decision to go with spin at both ends the moment Yuvraj walked in at the fall of the second wicket was inspired. He thought him out.

When the team was announced at the start of the match, half-a-dozen times through the match and then after it was over, I thought of the parents of the Brothers Pathan. To have two sons in India's eleven, to have your older boy hit the second ball of his international career for six, to see him bowl an over, then to watch your younger son return triumphantly to form when it mattered most, to see him made the Man of this Mother of all Matches, must have been more magical than a fairy tale. Rajdeep Sardesai tells of the time Irfan took him to the home he grew up in, just to show him the improbable origins of an Indian champion. Two rooms in the compound of the mosque where his father was the Imam. Talk about happy endings!

	Shoaib Malik's decision to have spinners at both ends as soon as Yuvraj Singh came in was a masterstroke © Getty Images

Then the Pakistan captain said something that was so irrelevant that I couldn't believe my ears. So I looked at the highlights over and over again to make sure that I'd actually heard him say it. This is what he said to master of ceremonies, Ravi Shastri, who asked him a sympathetic question about the game after Shoaib had collected his loser's medal:

"First of all I want to say something over here. I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world."

This is what he said word for word because it's important to quote him correctly. The problem here isn't the syntax, it is the sentiment. I don't expect Shoaib Malik to be a politically correct intellectual, but it is reasonable to expect him to know the world of cricket that he inhabits.

It is a world where Muslims, Hindus and a Sikh currently play for England, where Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and a Hindu play for Sri Lanka, where Hashim Amla turns out for South Africa, where a Patel plays for New Zealand, where Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Hindus play (and have always played) for India. Why would Shoaib think, then, that the Muslims of the world were collectively rooting for the Pakistan team or that they felt let down by its defeat? Did he stop to think of how Danish Kaneria, his Hindu team-mate, might feel hearing his Test skipper all but declare that the Pakistan team is a Muslim team that plays for the Muslims of the world? It is one thing to be publicly religious—Shahid Afridi thanked Allah and Matt Hayden and Shaun Pollock are proud, believing Christians—quite another to declare that your country's cricket eleven bats for international Islam.

Is this the forum to talk about this? Shouldn't Cricinfo and cricket's online community stick to cricket and leave issues like this alone? No we shouldn't, because Shoaib Malik chose to make it our business by saying it in team colours at the end of the ICC World Twenty20 final. He said something that goes to the heart of cricket's loyalties, its culture, its plurality of race and faith and language. If Shoaib took in nothing else about the final, he must have noticed that the bowler who took his wicket was called Irfan Khan Pathan, that the Indian team's most visible cheerleader, the guy who was hugging Indian players in turn at the end of the game, was one Shah Rukh Khan. I feel a residual distaste in even mentioning their names because both Shah Rukh and Irfan are admired in India for what they've achieved, not who they are. But sometimes it is important to spell things out and Shoaib could do with the instruction.

Shoaib Malik just downgraded his intelligence by uttering such a statement. I hope it was just an aberration and he would realise his mistake. Excuse me.. err.. wasnt it a muslim who won the MOM for the opposite team...

I agree with your comments 100%. Shoaib did spoil the mood by making a fool of non-muslim supporters of Pakistan.

Wonderful finishing statements. I am not a good writer but believe me that I thought the same. Cricket is a sport and please keep it out of religion and contribute to its success and not add colors to it.

Why are you talking about islam? He wanted to thank the people for their prayers if they were muslim. You got it all wrong.

I think Mr Kesavan you are over analysing his words too much. Your so called 'sectarian' team has won the match ...

I agree with you Mukul one hundred percent. The thing you said about the Shoaib Malik and his statements did really hurt me. I am not a muslim but I still rooted for Pakistan in their matches except their match against us. I always like the pakistani bowlers and their talents. I dont think what he said was appropriate on this world stage. He should be reprimanded and should apologise to everybody.

leave da poor captain alone, itz onli his first tym as captain he was nervez wen he went up 2talk n mus hav got mixed up!!!

Brilliantly put article. I think it's time the cricketing world, and Pakistani's in general, acknowledge that there is the concept of "Indian Muslim", and it's incredibly prevalent in society today - sports, cricket and other - just as you pointed out.

It was a reckless statement on his part and I hope he realises that there are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan, and probably more Muslims praying for India than for Pakistan..

What a guy this Mukul is!! I rate his blog and cricket acumen way ahead of a Nasser Hussain (my favorite commentator!!) or Ian Chappel's incisive commentry.

I rememebr wincing when Shoaib Malik uttered those words. He doesn't realise that he's plunging a great cricketing nation like Pakistan to abysmal depths by citing words like Muslim supporters, islam etc.

I understand that he's not fluent in his spoken English BUT pakistanis are ridiculing themselves by "saying" all that in a public event like this.

Mukul, I'm waiting in all earnest for your comments on another unwarranted and unwanted person Sreesanth

Great article.

Shame on Shoaib Malik

I totally agree Mukul .... you can't even put this on bad communication skills ....that was outright inappropriate ....especially after Irfan was the MOM.

Well, actually I dint see this bit but my friends told me about Shoaib's comments. I was first surprised. Then angry!

1. If I am an Indian Muslim, I would be angry cauze he is questioning my patriotism.

2. If I am an Indian Hindu I would be angry he got away with this! Imagine if an Indian Hindu had questioned the patriotism of Indian Muslim's.

Its high time Shoaib Malik should learn to be a cricketer first and then anything else. I think this article is a good starting point for him to understand that he is what he is today cause of the game and not a religion.

It (Shoaib thanking Muslims worldwide for their loss :)) almost undid the brilliance Pakistan showed on the field...I am glad that India as a nation has moved on, where a SRK or a pathan or a Zaheer Khan can be proud of their achievements and leaving their religious identities at home like millions of others in the country. Maybe, we as a society got something right, never mind the occasional eruption of jingoism and hate.

Shoiab Malik should be given the information that more muslims live in India than in Pakistan and they support India. Moreover a game is above religious plays.Its only religion is humanity

nice article ...very interesting comment by Shoeb and a very wrong one ... We always play as team not based on religon

Whatever Shoaib said to ravi's question was completely wrong and irrelevant. Lokk in to the future Shoaib don't act like inzi. Grow up.

As an Indian Muslim, I was aghast at reading Malik's statement on Cricinfo, soon after the high of reveling in India's victory. What I wanted to shout out loud in his ear was, "Sorry to burst your bubble bro, but I was a Muslim rooting for India and your loss gladdened me to no end!"

Fantastic article Kesavan...You are absolutely spot on with your observations. This team has belied expectations and led wonderfully well, while Pakistan unfortunately were on the losing side when one hit could have seen them through.Finally the Indian team have delivered when it has mattered over the last few weeks. I agree with you completely about Shoib's comments at the end of the game. Who is he to think that all Muslims root for Pakistan..It is good to have religion and faith but it shouldnt be overtly advertised on the world stage, that too in a final of a world cup!

Mr Mukul u are fishing an issue out of a mere slip of the poor mans tongue he intended and wanted to say pakistanis all over the world come on give the guy a break his english is no where near to urs and u should give him the benefit of doubt........oh but why would u u need fodder for ur columns and not ur fault ur bread and butter depends on it ....but still show some sports man spirit man...

Mukkul,

I am one of the many cricket lovers who are impressed with the way young captains like Dhoni and Mailk approach the press conferences with lot of sensible thoughts and outright honesty. So obviously I was shocked to hear these words from the Pakistani captain.

But I still want to give the benefit of doubt to this young captain. As we all know, English is not his mother tongue and a language where he can express himself very clearly. I think that he wanted to say "pakistanis settled around the world", but it came out wrongly as "muslims around the world". Let's hope I am right :)

Mukul, I'm glad you pointed out and focused on Malik's comments. Its one of the most idiotic things I've heard a captain say after a match. Shortly after I read his comments, I went and blogged on it (not quite as eloquently as you) but it was a little expression of what I felt: http://eye-on-cricket.blogspot.com/2007/09/you-sir-are-idiot.html
I hope someone in the Pakistani press takes him to task as well; otherwise, we'll see other Pakistani captains express similarly ludicrous sentiments down the line as well.

I agree with the writer 100% here. We were watchining the game rooting for India but when Umar Gul bowled yorker after yorker, we were praising him. We were praising how well Pakistan had bowled. Comments like Shoib made here brings religon in the game. As a sports man I appreciate players not who they are. I watached Pak vs. NZ game and I cheered for Pak in that match and I am a non-muslim. Shoib with his comments saying that he only cares about muslim supporters. TOTALLY WRONG, that is not how you win supoort.

Didn't Dhoni and Malik forgot to congratulate each other ? C'mon, both reached the finals after leading such young teams. Only Afridi had the decency to congratulate the victor.

And this comment from Malik -- total unwarranted.

Silly comment from the captain of a team who should have long realized that religion and sport don't mix...

I think Malik down rated the Pakistan's team effort and support in cricket lovers (In particular Non-Muslim's) after such a prime effort. On a different note India has more Muslim than Pakistan........

To be honest, I have enjoyed every article of this match but this one. I truly think that was a slip of tongue from Shoib, a captain hugely disappointed with the loss, and it can happen. This game was played in the best of spirits regardless of race, religion, etc. and we all know international sports like Cricket is beyond all this.

I truly request for all the readers/writers lets not spoil the fun by raising such issues that aren't really issues. Lets learn to give benefit of the doubt for once and celebrate one of the most thrilling matches that was played in years...

Shoaib's comments are an insult to all the pakistan supporters!!! Perhaps he wants to avoid the backlash encountered at home ...of loosing to India (yet again) at the world stage.

Malik's comments are an echoing sentiment of the Pakistan Cricket Team. Religion has no realm in the boundaries of sport. Regardless of your beliefs - sports should be and always will be universal. Kudos Mukul for you candid and honest insight into Malik’s irresponsible demeanor.

Mukul, I agree to your comments totally. The way Shoaib made his comments, I was shocked. Muslims in India will outnumber muslims in pakistan in population and I dont think they would support Pakistan. I agree to your point that giving bowling to Joginder Sharma was not a good ploy, but if you look in the context of the game, we did not have any other bowler left to fall on except Harbhajan, who was out of colour against Misbah ul haq. Hats off to Misbah the way he has batted through out the tournament. Only two people deserved to be be called man of the tournament. 1) Umar Gul, 2) Misbah. Shahid was not a right choice since he took wickets at very costly rate and his runs were came against Bangladesh. This is the irony of the game that one has to lose. Both team played superb game. But at the end, India held the nerves and Misbah was done by pressure not by bowling. Great leadership by Mahendra Singh Dhoni looking at the kind of resources he got. All were young and most of them were new to the international cricket. Look at the bowling options given to Dhoni, Agarkar was going for runs and he did not have a good back up bowler to look for. At the end, Team which held its nerve won the match. Shoaib and Dhoni both deserve big round of applause for the way they have led their teams. Congratulations to team India the way they have played through the tournament. It was total team effort, no heros.
Being an Indian, I am delighted that India won.

I completely agree with Mukul. I have always supported Pakistan and Srilanka because of their sub-continent origin rather than the religion they follow. I sincerely feel that captains of international cricket teams should be taught what not to speak sometimes!!!!. I know that Shoaib is young and still inexperienced being a captain, but hopefully, he will not involve religion with a fine game of cricket from now on.

Mukhul,
Very well said abt Shoaib Malik's comments. Being a representative of Global sport, he should choose his words carefully. Every Player should understand that sport is beyond Race, Religion, caste etc and every Ind citizen has the right to support Pakistan in a sport and vice versa as long the individual is motivated only by sporting interest and not political. Anyways, this tournament has been a moral boosting victory for all cricketing youngsters in general no matter they are from India, Pak or Aus etc. 20-20 needs energetic Young talent to succeed.Period.

I don't think he thanked the Muslims. I was watching the ceremony and he thanked all the Muslim Leagues all over the world. I think he (and the Pakistan team) must have gotten good luck messages from all over the world. And he was thanking them. He seems to be a level-headed guy.
Long time back I think Umar Gul talked in Urdu/Hindi during a presentation ceremony. Why don't all players who are not comfortable with English talk in their native tongue? I don't think knowing English is a sign of a cricket player.

Yes Mukul, I agree with you… that was totally inappropriate and unnecessary statement… I am an Indian Muslim and a die-hard Indian fan; his statement let me down… This is where I think Pakistan should have appointed some one like Shahid Afridi as captain, who understands the context and speaks appropriately to the occasion…

I hope we heard what we did was because of Shoaib's obvious discomfort with the english language. A huge majority believes in the sentiments captured by you Mukul and I sincerely hope it does not grow into another bickering point between cricket fans! And yes, I am a fan of Dhoni the skipper. As Gavaskar rightly noted in the post match analysis, our man has that presence on the field and players seem to look up to him. The most unfortunate bit, amidst all this euphoria, however, has been the way our media has reacted. Their has been veiled comments on the relevance of the TRIO in light of our successes in South Africa. This is such a pity indeed. To think that we had a respectable face in international cricket over the last decade and a half can be ascribed solely to these greats. Throghout the nineties, our batting was synonimous with sachin. Dravid has produced more masterclass innings than any in the world over the last 6-7 years. Now is not the time to pass veiled remarks against them. They have been massive.

Cheers!

I was stunned when I heard it... getting religion in the middle of the things.It's pathetic.I hope Shoaib didn't really mean it.

As a muslim myself I'm sure Shoaib meant the support of muslims the world over during this testing month of ramadan. However I'm sure the writer knows this...

I doubt he meant anything by it.

Probably just a slip of the tongue. I think people are making more of it than they should.

After reading this article, I'm at cross roads whether to applaud or applaed such keen observation.
I'm sure, Mr. Malik had no intention of making this a Muslim forum. He probably could have put it alot better had he said in his native tongue.
Somethings ARE LOST in transaltion. Let it be Mr. Kesavan, let it be. He is no Poilitician nor an orator, he's just a good cricketer and simple man. Do not make this into a Muslim hating forum.

Hi Mukul

I want to start off by saying that you might be a little too hasty in calling Dhoni the only adult in Indian cricket, we must remember that Dravid was not the captain that blamed others and stamped his feet. However, having said that, I completely agree with you when you say that Dhoni does not look like he is burdened by the task of making large and crucial decisions... For some reason, Dravid always seemed like a man in trouble all throughout the game... Dhoni has a likable carefree flair about him, which will do a lot for Indian cricket over the next couple of years. I agree with you when you say Dhoni should be made the Test captain as well, not because I believe he's the only one capable of doing it... but because I don't believe in the concept of different captains in the different forms of the game... lets give one guy the reins and see what he does.

Also, I'm really glad that you brought up Shoaib Malik's comments... I thought the same thing as you when I saw the postgame ceremony... I actually went back and watced it again just to make sure I had heard him right. I was incredibly surprised by his declaration of playing for muslims... especially taking into context his competition. His side was not playing australia or south africa or west indies where although islam exists, it is not a crucial aspect of everyday life... but instead, they were playing India, a country with a large islamic population and a country who's last President was a man by the name of Abdul Kalam... not to mention the names you brought up. We have had this notion in India and Pakistan about the conflict being between Hindus and Muslims... fortunately, this idea has beginned to die down recently and friendlier times have come... the last thing we need is the captain of the pakistan team stating pakistan plays for all the muslims in the world. I'm glad you brought up this topic... because I know a lot of people would be hesitant to seem controversial when infact, it was Shoaib Malik who set it up that way.

big pakistan fan, dejected that they lost. Shoaib Malik should not have said what he said. In pakistan there are all types of people who love cricket and pakistan. Whether you are Christian, Sikh, or hindu pakistan is for everyone and that is what jinnah believed in. Shoaib has used the wrong choice of words. I am Muslim and I dont agree with his statement.

I agree with the writer's sentiments. It was totally inappropriate for a National team captain to say such a thing. However, Let us take into consideration that this bright young man is just a product of his environment. Hopefully, with more exposure and more experience of being in a high position of authority will ensure that he will not repeat such a faux pas as this. Perhaps, this piece should be directed more at the PCB than at Malik himself.

Geoff Lawson must try and root such sentiments from his captain or it might undermine what little progress the team has managed thus far. For me, the great fun of this final was a tiny bit diminished by such a crass and insulting comment. You encapsulated the vast majority of general feeling most succintly in your article. Cricket is a universal game to be loved, cherished and much enjoyed by all regardless of colour, creed or class. Long live cricket.

Very poignantly put. It is the ill-informed individuals like the Pakistani captain who could have done something like this. Did the Indian victory make Irfan Pathan and his brother Yousuf, a lesser Muslim? I think NOT. They are just individuals like their captain Dhoni representing their country. It is insulting to even reflect on such comments. This habit of bringing religion is insidious and must not be allowed to tarnish a global event where skills and not beliefs matter. Wonder what Geoff Lawson felt? Welcome to the club, mate. I wonder what would happen if the Australians start praising Jesus Christ at Lahore after beating the Pakistan team in a series there. PLEASE LEAVE RELIGION OUTSIDE THE CRICKET GROUNDS. It has NO place there. And if you want to praise the lord or your religion, do it in your heart.

wounderful captaincy by Dhoni, well support from the other team mates, it's really grate.

Wow! Is this immaturity or what? My heart goes out to Danish Kaneria - the whole idea of being publicly religious (thanking Allah, etc) is not good; considering that it brings in the 'religion'(fundamentalist) element to cricket. Obviously, its a personal choice - but here, it does seem to be forced upon the whole Pakistani team. In a lot of ways, it represents the thought process of how the team goes preparing for its matches.

Yes Shoaib did do a faux pas with his statement. He could very well have gone the Dhoni route by saying that the whole country was praying for them.

Give the guy a break. His team has just lost to there arch rivals. Shoaib was very emotional and made an error. He meant to say Paksitanis all over the world not Muslims. Everyone makes mistake. Why is Mr Mukul making a big thing about this ? And Mr Ashwini there are more muslims in Pakistan than in India. Please get your facts right.

Good article. I think you summarized it brilliantly. Perhaps Shoaib should have his comments written out for him by a speech writer going forward.
....Even Inzy would not have said something like this......or maybe he would :)
There is no place in cricket for anyone who thinks Shoaibs comment was justified.

I 100% agree with the comments posted by Mukul. I looked at the video and the first impression I got "what he is talking on the stage where the entire cricket world is looking at". This shows how immature he is. I am sure, someone should point out and ask him to apologize for his immature comments.

I also wanted to add something in Shoaib's defense... I really hope that what he said was just due to his discomfort with the english language, in which case... that is entirely excusable...

I really hope it was a phrase that was lost in translation... not anything intentional

Malik got what he deserved.Also his sentiments reflect what he believes. But let me mention that India got much more than a world championship........It got a clear and open advertisement of its secular nature to the whole world.It was emotional to see a cheer go up when Shahrukh was shown on the screen, see him hugging the players and congratulating them.Nothing is a better advertisement for India than those scenes. Keep it up India.

Mukul, I am sure you realize that Shoaib is the tip of this huge ugly iceberg, which we all can do without in cricket. It is all the more shocking coming from him, since he is married to Ayesha Siddiqui from Hyderabad in India and is expected to know the emotions of his 'sasural' country. Somebody needs to walk upto this man and use bold letters to burst his ears with the followinh message: SORRY SIR, YOU MAY HAVE BURDENED YOURSELF TO REPRESENT EVERY MUSLIM ON EARTH (what the heck, even on MARS), BUT MUSLIMS IN INDIA ARE REPRESENTED BY THOSE 11 MEN IN BLUE.

Malik's comments should make every Indian feel proud about what India and Indian spirit stands for. I'm a Hindu and I'm proud to have an Irfan in my team and not a Malik.

I think the man should at least be given a chance to explain himself before we all jump on him.

Let's remember people that the comment came after probably his biggest cricketing setback. I doubt he was thinking clearly (or at all)

Although I still think people are making a mountain of a mole hill.

It's unfortunate that MK chose to close his post with the Malik controversy. In doing that, he diluted the rest of the article in my mind. Is Shoaib a better spokesman/ambassador/politician than he is a cricketer. I think not, however we expect him to be. Did he mean it to be a personal affront to all the non-Muslim supporters of Pakistan? MK surely thinks so. Perhaps he should have his speechwriters fired, Mr Kesavan?

As an Indian Muslim, I felt pretty bad about what he said. But he's still a young lad who is not very experienced as a captain. I am proud of what the Indian team has achieved and will always stand by them through thick and thin.

This is really not the right time to write this kind of comment. After this wonderful World Cup, it would have been better to talk about the play itself than some random sentence that Shoaib Malik uttered at the end of the match.
This is the problem with ALL you Journalists. You guys take some random words and make it into big issues. Cut it out, and admire the game

Let's cut him a break, people sometimes say things they don't realize when they are saying them. Having said that, he is the captain of pakistan internation team, should be more careful of his words in future.

I too felt a little odd listening to Malik; he should be given the benefit of doubt though. English is not the subcontinent's first language anyway.
Joginder Sharma is undercooked. His figures today do not do justice to his mediocre bowling. He was lucky today; was bowling over pitched dollies outside off.
Had Robin Uthappa held on to a tough chance from Misbah earlier, it would not have been this close.
Dhoni seems to be saying the right things so far. But he's been lucky too - all his decisions have paid off in spectacular fashion, this is not to take anything away from him.
Feels great to savor a victory in a World Cup after 24 years.

Three Cheers.
One last note - BCCI please dont kill the hen that lays the Golden Egg. Can't beleive these guys will be back on the field in B'lore on Sat. This after a 3 month gruelling tour of England and then this. All the players and their work loads have to be managed very carefully; a policy of rotation has to be adopted.

Thank you for pointing out the Pakistan skipper's mistake and making a formal note of it. Playing at an international level and speaking at the finals of a world cup, you have to realize the impact of your words and the number of people listening to you. What he said is absolutely ridiculous and I hope more people pick this point and question him about it till he says something to retract his statement. With the man of the match standing next to him, he proved that he was clearly blind to cricketing loyalities.

I am pretty sure Shoaib did not mean what he said. It is just that he is uneducated and was probably caught up in the moment.

This was exactly my reaction when I heard him utter those words on live tv BUT after a while when it sunk in herez what I thought.

I think you missed out on a few more words that he said. He said, "we are sorry for the loss but you should know that we gave our 100%". Its easy to give a knee-jerk reaction to somebody's words but we should also understand where his words came from. Pakistan is a islamic nation and there are scores of proud pakistani nationals living outside their home country. They were disappointed and devastated after having coming so close. They share the same passion for this game as theirs brothers across the border. For Shoaib they are all muslims and so are they for the rest of us and that is who I think he referred to as the muslim people.

Given his apparent shortcomings in the English language why can't we stop judging and give him the benefit of doubt?

Those comments from Malik have tainted an otherwise good Debut as Captain. his batting and leadership throughout the tournament have been calm and composed. Though some of his descions have been pretty bad ( Afridi at 6 is a pure waste his slogs are more likely to clear the field in the first 6 overs, moving Kamran up the order was bad too) but on the whole he is a much better captain than Younis is.
About those comments less said the better...

Well when Pathan won the MOM he did not thank Muslims does it make him a lesser Muslim or a better sports personality ?

Chak De India!!!!

Mukul Kesavan is absolutely right in his criticism of Shoaib Malik. It was distasteful and I felt it spoiled the atmosphere more than anything. A player gets punished for excessive appealing, showing dissent etc. It is a shame that people are allowed to play and get away with making such remarks.

Shoaib should learn to be good cricketer first.I think shoaib is thinking, the whole Muslim community in the world supporting PAK. I supported Pak through out the tournament,except when they played against india. I was shocked when i saw it live. Good article Mukul.

Was waiting for such article...nicely written. Of all the things that happened over the tournament ... of all the wins and losses of Pakistan, of all their great and good performances what matters most to its captain is that he dissappointed the world of Islam!!
How can he even suppose that a Indian (or for that matter a non-Pakistani) muslim will be wnting for him to win? We Indians are a proud nation, we take great pride in being Indians. God help Malik if he thinks any Indian (muslim or non-muslim) will support Pakistan in a India-Pakistan match. WE ARE PROUD TO BE INDIANS!!

I am from pakistan and boy what a game. To make things worse shoaib opens his mouth. Keep your mouth shut and just play the game. Enough...Move on people. Stop showing off the religion and focus on the game. DISGRACEFUL.

Absolutely right. All of us who were watched were stunned by that statement. We were all watching excellent cricket by both the teams, and out of no where Mr. Shoaib decided to include some thing that was totally unnecessary. If it is a mistake, I hope he meant all Pakistanis and not Muslims! But otherwise he better take english lessons/public speaking courses. I am sure every cricket lover in the world was appreciating batting by Misbah-Ul-Huq, may not be enjoying :).
I hope some one in the press let Shoaib know about his mistake and hope he does not repeat it.

This Pakistan Captains comment comes as no surprise as there has been precedence with most captains barring Rameez Raja & Wasim Akram uttering such comments. Not too long ago the country's cricket establishment found to it's dismay prayer was the way to success & not practice. Less mentioned the better else it gives credence to the utterence itself.

you guys dont have other things to do than discussing over poor mans poor comments ? :)

I think he most certainly wanted to THANK all the people for SUPPORTING and PRAYING for him and his team.

His english is not all that great(even though better than Inzi), so you have to give him some slack.

I am very much thinking in the way of Mukul and hoping that some one (as i am not a software/computer expert) will come-up with this article. I am feeling shame now for wishing for Pakistans success in all other matches, except those involving India. Infact, i wished they should loose by a tiniest of the margins so that back home their people will not hurt that badly...

oh! I agree with you mukul! he should hav avoid that words...but i think, he used that word only for escaping from the after effects of this loss from the pakistani's supporters in pakistan!.." Shoib, cricket is a global game...and all players are good ambassador's of their country! ....so try to avoid those types of words in future...you hav a gr8 future as captaining pakistan...and sorry danish kaneria,it was not to hurt you! :)

well the guy has really undone and brought shame to his team's briiliant performance that got them so far and almost to the top! I am also sure our brothers whom he was referring to feel the same!

its not abt muslim, hindu, sikh, christian etc....it's about cricket, man!! grow up Shoaib (and quickly)

one thing's certain: Shoaib needs to learn diplomacy if he has any hopes of being a respected captain....

btw, brilliant article Mukul

I think Shoaib just wanted to thank the pakistani supporters all over the world and not the muslims.. I am sure he repents the import of what he said at the conference.. lets nt make an issue out of this..

I think Dhoni could have persisted with Yusuf pathan, who did bowl well in the one over. The three sixes of harbhajan in one over almost tilted the match in pakistan's favor.

...He thanked people in Pakistan and Muslims around the world. What did he thank them for? For praying for/supporting the Pakistan team. How does that question the loyalty of Indian muslims? If you're a Muslim and didn't support Pakistan, he didn't thank you. If you're not a Muslim and you prayed/supported Pakistan, he didn't thank you. Perhaps he forgot you, perhaps he didn't want to thank you or perhaps he doesn't know you exist. He isn't under any oblgation to thank anyone, so you can't hate him for that.

In the future, stick to cricket.

I imagine there is a lot of pressure at a post-match press conference. If you have to speak in a language that is not your mother tongue, the pressure can be doubled.

Malik impressed me with his cool captaincy and good criket skills. Pakistan have a bright future in such a young man. I would give Malik the benefit of the doubt...and possibly a ticket to an English Speaking and Public Relations Communcations course. Give him a break, guys!

I hope Chandu is right and it was just an error of translation. If not, it was a majorly stupid thing to say. I wish Irfan had said: "Thanks also to Shoaib for thanking me and Yusuf for some strange reason".

As for Dhoni, he does seem to be a fantastic captain. Though I don't think our previous guys had a habit of blaming others.

I beleived Shoaib Malik was a mercurial captain....more, a wonderful person, until the Twenty20 Final ceremony that is. He led his team well, created an amazing sense of belief among his players, showed them the path to a nearly won final. And then..... he uttered the unbeleivable. I firmly beleive he did not mean what he said, for there is no reason for him to say so. Yet he said and said so out of the context. The question is Why? And a bigger question is 'doesn't it have to do something with the kind of education these people are subjected to? Don't these words reflect what their concious have been fed? Do these guys ever realize how much it hurts the sentimemnts of cricket lovers, if not their own reputation?'
Shoaib, you have lost one fan and I am not sorry for that.

Yes, the comment from Shoaib Malik was irrelevant and wasnt fitting in any sporting event final podium or for that matter any event. I literally fail to understand what has religion got to do in supporting a team. Shoaib should publicly apologize over the issue.

His ENGLISH sucks! GIVE HIM A BREAK!

I'm sure he didn't mean it; just a slip of tongue!

mukul you are a abit of a jerk for makin this such a big issue because im sure u understand that shoaib malik most likely did not mean what he actually said, so give him a break im sure he and the rest of the pakistanis would appreciate this

OMG. You're taking this out of context. If you havent noticed, it's the month of Ramadan right now. Muslims, such as Shoaib feels that, not that I think he's fasting while playing, but for every muslim,this is a special time of the year. And many supporters have taken the time to follow Pakistan's matches during this period. He wanted to thank people for the prayers. Although I agree the statement was poorly timed, it was not that ridiculous. Pakistan is a country with 95 % muslims, take that in count. And also I feel Shoaib's true comment got lost in translation...simple as that.

SHAME on Shoaib! He insulted Bob Woolmer, Danish Kaneria and Geoff Lawson and Every Muslim playing for any other country than Pakistan.

Considering the fact that most of the Paki players are not familiar with English, it would be wise to give the benefit of doubt to the Pakistan skipper as to what he intended by his statement. Remember, not so long ago, a player and Skipper by the name Inzamam Ul Haq would shudder when he played well to warrant a man of the match award, just for the fear of speaking in English during the post match ceremonies.
So please leave this issue alone and savour the great win that our lads have pulled off....Chak De India.

Well! please dont make it an issue. The problem is that Pakistan players(except Shoaib Akhtar) finds it hard to express themselves in English. Sometimes they dont mean what they say when it comes to speak in english.

Give the poor guy a break. This is very harsh criticism, without even giving him any benefit of doubt..being on the winning side and just a spectator, i was not even in a position to speak after the game, just imagine how he might be feeling, drained of all emotions.. he must have meant "thank you back home Pakistan and the Pakistanis living all over the world". and the fact that he mentioned "back home", i am pretty sure he meant pakistanis and not muslims.
Anyways, he is a good captain and i am pretty sure we will have a cracker of an india-pakistan series coming up..

Hmmmm,,, its a day to be remembered and lets hope that team india keep this vibe going on....its moment for all of us to cheer...

Regarding the comment from Malik, lets excuse him on the basis of misinterpretation,, anyway we shouldnt pick on him much as atleast even if he had meant it word by word, how can we criticize ?, where our own government appends the list of allowed gods :-).... its a sad fact,,,, but we have to live with it.

As much i want to give benefit of the doubt, it left a bad taste. He is a young and brilliant captain for Pakistan. I hope he stays as captain for long time. As far as India Goes. CHAK DE INDIA!!!!!

Though, it could be a slip of the toung coupled with some emotions, when you talk to the media, you have got to be careful, in what you say; Sorry, no excuses here. I feel, a public apology from S Malik will correct this situation immediately.

Being a Pakistani, I was obviously saddened at the loss of Pakistan..but lets face it, IT WAS A FANTASTIC GAME! In regards to Malik's comments, he was thanking muslims who had sent him messages from all over the world not thanking all the muslims in the world...please correct your statement. Thanks.

As someone mentioned before, we root for Pakistan when they dont play against us. Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Waqar and Inzamam-Ul-Haq are some players who would warm any cricket lovers hearts irrespective of their nationality or religion.

I just hope Malik's statement was an aberration or something that shouldn't have come out the way it should because if it didnt then that just means that he thinks that Pakistani cricket team is the torchbearer for Muslims around the world. I can just shake my head in disbelief. There are enough Muslims players playing for at least 4 other teams to shoot down that claim. I just hope that there is an explanation behind it. That aside, congratualtions to both the teams on playing a great tournament and two great matches. Can't remember when cricket was as exciting as this.

Lets not be nitpicky about what Malik said. It was a good match between good teams and in the midst of all the post-match adrenaline rush, a non-english speaking captain said something that did not come out right. Lets leave it at that. This is too good a moment to bicker about things like these.

I totally agree with you sir, i was apalled myself at the comment from the Pak Captain. The heart of a champion is neither muslim nor hindu nor a christian. For crickets sake i hope it was just the slip of a tongue and not the sentiment of a nation.

I am sure that the muslims of Bangladesh did not route for Pakistan especially after their defeat. I am sure Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan did not route for Pakistan either. Sorry, Shoaib, I guess you are confused!!

Listen guys, that malik guys, didn't mean it, its just a language barrier... But he is a good player. I think its just habit forming to say things like that, just like we Americans use the 4 letter word on ever thing, I think he was just lost for words, I really think they should speak in urdu ...or have some one translate it for them.

Come on people. The last I heard (or read) was that Shoaib was taking English speaking lessons so as to enhance his reputation as a captain of a cricketing nation. Come to think of it. How old is this guy? At such an young age, you expect him to talk like an oxford pro? Gimme a break. Few days back India was about to burst over an octogenerian's statement (and a CM at that too) saying that whatever we read/heard about one of our God's is completely wrong. Given the context which is more inciteful? Come on guys. Lay off Shoaib. He said what he said, and did any one bother to ask him to clarify his statements, post match?

Relax. In the heat of the moment and knowing that over a billion people are watching you, any one can blubber due to nerves. Shoaib, as a Captain is an infant yet. The best of us who do publich speaking for ages, still get butterflies and say something wrong from time to time, that we absolutely don't mean it. So, what to talk about Shoaib then. The fact remains that the pakistani national cricketers are as close freinds to most of the Indian cricketers off the ground. So, let's give the kid a break....shall we? If we want to pick on something, there is always that old guy in the dark sunglasses who just landed a massive blow to the whole nation's sentiment in one drunken statement.

Lets see if you are "over-analyzing" Shoaib Malik's comments then you should know that he is still learning the language. Evidence: an english teacher awaits him when he gets back home. So there is a language barrier so to speak. Maybe things did not come out right. Maybe what he meant to say was, I am thankful for the people who are praying for our victory since its Ramadhan(a muslim holy month). So please don't be judgmental! Congrats to india on the victory and bring on the next series!

Awesome work Mukul...though all of them made an attempt to listen to it time and again..nobody dared to mention it as you did..Yes,he should not have said that.

Amazing win for India. A great finals. I think we have found a very talented, carefree Indian captain. We need someone like him who can bring the team together and let them all play their natural game. I always like the attitude of a team that can go for the kill. And India did it today. Regarding the comments of Paki captain... that is absolutely foolish for him to say anything like that. I hope he realises that. Very poor statement. He not only belittled his own team, he also belittled the whole country of Pakistan for such words.
Anyway, amazing victory for India. They deserved this. And yea, our victory streak in world cup against Pak continues!

Awesome work Mukul...though all of them made an attempt to listen to it time and again..nobody dared to mention it as you did..Yes,he should not have said that.

I disagree with you Kamer, Do you think Only MUSLIMS watch cricket & only MUSLIMS support Pakisthan? Cricket fans across the globe have watched/enjoyed/cheered this match.If he had said, Thanking Pakisthan people & the ppl who supported his team worldwide, that should have been the rights words.

I agree with mukul totallay, what shohaib said was totallay wrong, but give the guy some break he has lost a worldcup final, his face showed the story the guy didnt know what he was saying, and his english is not that good, he did not meat to disrespect anyone. Hes a human he made a mistake.

this is his 1st tournament as a captain..and this is India pak match..he must be under extreme stress after losing the match ...may be he wasnt aware of what he is talking in that state...v just cant blame him for this..v shd not take this srsly...it is due to his english prob and actually i think he dint mean to say this

Calling out 'Pakistanis around the world' is one thing and 'Muslims around the world' is another. For some of you who were arguing for 'poor guy - Malik' who should get the benefit of doubt - You dont need to have English as your mother tongue to differentiate between People of Pakistan around the world and Muslims around the world! You dont deserve to be the Captain and represent your nation when you are so ignorant and cant differentiate between such sensitive and politically so incorrect phrases. It's 'your' (as you would call him - Irfan) Muslim in India that won us the match today!

You can bring with you an interprater to translate Urdu into English. At the beauty peagents every year, girls representing Venenzuala bring interpraters with them to do all the talking! It's ok not to know a language that's not your native. But it's not okay to think what you were thinking while you were talking in front of the entire world!!!

frankly, i think that YOU should just stick to cricket as well. you really are making a mountain out of a molehill. get a grip people!

Guys! give him a break, he is just a nice guy and does not know english, maybe he meant to say People who supported Pakistan at Home and Away(instead of Muslim).

WoW! A great read...it's added to the pleasure of the day. Getting to the most significant point talked about, which I was expecting to be discussed widely as soon as I heard it, Shoaib Malik hasn't lived upto the spirit of the game. At the time, when we've begun looking at Cricket as a unique binding force for many countries and religions, his statement did the damage work. Kudos to Mr. Mukul for having explained the rationale behind why this irrational comment was unexpected from a team skipper. Let's hope the damage control is done by someone(wish it's Shoaib himself) to maintain the love and respect for the game in the minds of the fans, without any prejudices. And yes, hardly there would be any much happier people than the parents of Pathan brothers. They must be feeling on top of the world. Rohit, Yusuf and Joginder are proving their mettle, which is a great sign. RP and Irfan have done excellent job and get their due credits. But one man has gone a little unnoticed- Gambhir, without whose knock things wouldn't have turned this way. Thanks to Pakistan team too who displayed a great show and special ones to Misbah for that cute shot! It's crackers, music and Sweets all around...cheers to India...much more promises to keep...CHAK DE INDIA!

Irrespective of whether he meant it or not, whether it is his English to be blamed, whether he got caught up in emotion, or , being the captain and representative of your country on a world stage, you ought to be more careful about what slips out of your windpipe. This Pakistan team's obsession with religion has been well documented, and by overtly flaunting its faith, this team might portray a wrong image of what the real Pakistan is like in this new age. I am an Indian and have many Pakistani friends, and they were all equally aghast by what they heard. Shoaib Malik the person is free to say what he believes in his autobiography, or whichever medium calls for his personal views. But while representing a nation as a whole, better PR is called for. Some things are just not acceptable ...

Mr. Kesavan, Malik was thanking Muslims for their prayers for the team glory. Think and then talk.

Maybe someone should ask Shoaib to explain further before he is charged guilty or proclaimed innocent. Clearly, attention needs to be directed at understanding Shoaib's intent in making those comments before we all go off the deep end. Mukul, I'm sure you know folks who can get greater clarity on this directly from Shoaib. Cheers!

so Mr. Kamer, why to bother and insist on that ? no one should support such kind of statement. And reminding about ramdan, are you trying to tell than every thing is fair in that period... you are wrong. You are prroving yourself poor buddy

I think Malik meant all his supporters. He is not confortable talking in English..

Yes, i was shocked when looked at the Pakistani Captains speech at the Prize distribition. It doesn't make any sense to mention the RELIGION in such an occassion.

Doesn't he (Shoaib Malik) know that Indian team has Muslims in it? I believe, it's because of his lack of experience and he could also be not well prepared for a speech at the presentation. He should re-think about what he said...

Folks,
While Shoib might have not meant what he said....Still it is not the right stage or the right time to bring in religion during a post match conference. One must understand that people love to watch cricket matches not because of religion..It is simply not in the equation. Shoib's predecessor Inzamam also used to talk about such stuff in post match conferences...The pakistan Team must be asked to keep its religious sentiments out of such situations and only in the dressing room....It really left a bitter taste after what was an incredible final after so many years.

Thanks
Rajiv

What he wanted to Prove by saying so. I could not understand how his statements are related to his team's loss. It was a ridiculous statement

dude ..it is pretty obvious what he meant by that, because Pakistan is the only test playing cricket nation that has a Muslim majority, so that is why he said what he said, because muslims all over the world unless if they are from other test playing countries that has a minority of Muslims, they will support pakistan, i know i do, dude honestly you gotta read some books and stop picking on what a guy who speaks b r oc ke n english and start finding a real cricket story to write about or you will probably/hopefully will lose your job

Hi Mukul,
It must be an honest slip of the tongue in the heat of the moment. He was one shotaway from the worldcup and given his poor english background, you expect too much from him.
Give him a break and he will clarify matters.

Watchout guys!! Dhoni's relaxed/endearing presence can soon be described nonchalant or even careless behaviour. There is a fine line between the two and it moves one side or the other depending on whether you are winning or losing. Remember Sehwag's carefree hitting brought him to the door of captaincy until his "careless" attitude(more than his batting - as reported) shut him out of the team.

YES MUKUL U R 100% CORRECT HE SHOULD NOT SAY IT BECAUSE I IS AN INSULT TO NON MUSLIM FANS SUPPORTING PAKISTAN ADN AFTER ALL WE R ONE OF THOSE .

He married an indian muslim from hyderabad. he is our son-in-law

people at high should undergo some training sessions on what to talk in public. I do not think Malik had such kind of training. And just to bring out to every one that these people are not great public speakers, and we should not point,dwell,dig and make it a big political issue.
Malik is a great leader, to have lead the team to final should not be masked by what he said during presentation.
Let us forgive/forget what he said and enjoi what pakistan and India have given us today, "THE MEMORABLE MATCH".

I think it was a slip of the toungue and we shut give him the benefit of the doubt. In you article you say "This is what he said to master of ceremonies, Ravi Shastri, who asked him a sympathetic question about the game after Shoaib had collected his loser's medal."
'Collected his LOSER's medal'??? i mean comon show some sports man spirit. Should we similarly castigate over your thoughtless remark. And you even have the benefit of familiarity with English which the Pakistan captain didnt have.

To all those saying this was a slip of tongue, why don't you ask Shoaib to apologize and make a correction ?

I absolutely agree with mukul's obbservation. The fact that Malik is not good in english is not a good excuse of what he uttered. This utterances has been common in many of the pakistan skippers post match conference talks. Sports is suppose to bring countries, religions,people togoether but comments like this by malik could undo everything that was done in the past. Representing the country, malik should have been carefull in his words.. Finnaly CONGRATS to India.

Some thoughts about my todays heros
Ghambir -- dude where have u been all this time
Irfan -- U the man of the day
RP -- 12 wickets in the tournament do i need to say more
S Santh -- Love the exhibition of fire
Jogi - two matches two final over and u came through Kudos

First of congrtualtions to India. They held their nerves and won the game even when they felt they did not have the total on the board that they wanted. It is always is hard to chase when you have runs on the board and to top it off an India vs Pakistan final....u need nerves of steel.

I am die hard Pakistani fan, born, bleed, live sleep, think about Pakistan cricket, I too sub-continent teams.

Now on Maliks comments, I know the guy personally, I truly believe and know it in my heart that he did not mean "Muslims all over the world". Like most Pakistani's english is not their mother tongue, though I must he does speak better than "Inzy". I just feel because in the month of Ramadan he got carried away not just thanking Pakistani back home but Muslims over the world.

I did see footage of the Pakistani team shaking hands and Afridi hunging "Pajee - Harbajan". Dhoni and Malik did shake hands as well.

This rivalry has matured over the year and so has the fan base. Based here in CA, I play with my Indian friends and now we can talk about much openly, rather than the days of Sharjah when it was always a one-side affair in favour Pakistan.

Dhoni is a great choice for India and Malik a great choice for Pakistan. They should be given the freedom to build on youth and mold a team which reckon sub-continent again as force in the cricket world.

Notice the oldies from both teams were not missed. Inzy, Yousuf, Arogant-Akhtar or Razzak. I don't think Ganguly, Sachin or Dravid could have done any better as well.

At the end of the day lets cut Malik some slack and let the Indian fans and players rejoice this victory for years to come.

I look forward to Pakistan vs India series next year.

absolutely rediculous,as a muslim i would like appologise to everyone on shoibs behalf,people like him dont represent islam,infact people like pathan brothers represent true spirit of islam.but the mere fact we are talking about this stupid comment shows that we should all grow up.n finally,ALHUMDULILLAH india won.infact if u really are a true muslim,shouldnt u be fasting in this holy month of ramadan.but oh well,who cares my team won.

I was really surprised at Shoaib's comments as being the ambassador of pakistan cricket this is not expected, but it is a great moment of celebration for INDIA which has come after 24 years, as far as as Pakistan and shoaib is concerned such things can happen in times of dissappointment.So lets live the moment!!!

are you guys for real??? he's obviously a nice guy and even more obvious his English isn't all that good. such an amazing match and THIS is what you want to talk about????

I agree with you, sir. I was apalled by his comments!!! India has more muslims than there are in Pakistan...muslims who love their country in every way like any other Sikh, Christian or Hindu citizen of India....becoz in here they get the rights, respect, and opportunities, to make it Big no matter who you are..we have some of the best people of any religion at the higgest positions of society ...e.g. Abdul Kalam, The khan actors, Azim premji, Sania mirza, Zaheer khan/The Pathan brothers, Manmohan Singh and plenty more examples.
Please keep religion out of sport!!

OK LISTEN PPL>>> MOST OF THE COMMENTS HERE ARE BY INDIANS>>> NOT TO DEFEND MALIK HERE BUT LEARN HOW TO READ!!! SO PPL WHO ARE NOT FROM INDIA OR PAKISTAN OR IF ENGLISH IS THEIR SEDOND LANGUAGE!!! READ THE COMMENT AGAIN! I WILL PASTE IT AGAIN!!!!
MALIK : "First of all I want to say something over here. I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world" .. .
HE SAID THE WHOLE NATION PAKISTAN AND (PLEASE NOTICE THIS MR. WRITER) AND THE MUSLIMS. I REST MY CASE!

Firstly, being the captain of a team is a responsibility in itself, and it behoves one to understand the responsibilities of being the face of your team. Mistakes do occur nevertheless, but the repurcussions of badly chosen words due the inability to express oneself in the English language cannot be pardoned, when you realize that millions upon millions are watching you. Every wrong word is amplified. Make your mistakes, but not at a world cup final and that too with India. I can understand the sentiment of some of the readers that we should brush this under the carpet and move on, but who is going to explain to the millions upon millions who took objection to the statement.

Cricket should be the focus, but being an ambassador of the game carries responsibilities far beyond cricket especially in India and Pakistan, where our population's self-esteem seems to stem from how we do in this sport!!!

I can forgive him, but what about the devout supporter in a corner of India. Its easy to say, its a game, but are you willing to take responsibility for the reactions of other people??

I would like to add--apologies if someone has already pointed this out--that Irfan began his response to Shastri when he was given the award with a 'Mahshah Allah' which--I could very well be imagining this--was, I thought, a brilliant retort to the Pakistan captain's statement. And, hey, whatever happenned to being a good sport--what about applauding the Indian team's effort? Maybe we should put that down to his youth. Along similar lines, hats-off to Afridi who rightly, being the more senior player, did commend the Indians.

Finally, thank god the oldies were all off the team!

Mohit

I was simply astounded when Malik uttered those words. I didn't see those comments reproduced anywhere. I was glad - atrocious comments swept under the rug. But I'm glad Mukul has called him on them. Apart from the points made, it is also rather vain to expect all muslims around the world to support Pakistan. Why can't people just thank "cricket fans all over the world"?

Mukul:

About Dhoni's captaincy, well he did pretty well in this 20-20 version of the game given the resources he had (Agarkar and Jogi etc). He backed his players and motivated well and extracted the max out of the talents they have. But I still believe it is just a bit too premature to assume him to be only adult in the indian cricket. Those who manage things well for a shorter period of time doesnt not necessarily manage equally well over an extended period of time. Similarly planning and execution over those 20-20 overs will be and it is quite a different thing from the planning required in a 50-50 over game. So it is still premature to assume things about his captaincy. But yes, we can definitely draw enough conculsion that he could be a good captain in making given proper chances. One thing for sure that he needs to check on himself is, too much media interaction that he tries to enjoy now. Indian media is nothing but premature, they make hero out of zero and a zero out a big hero in no time. The more you avoid them, the better you are doing. Dhoni needs to be watchful here.

And about Shoiab's comments, well he is just following all his predecessors. What else? This has been a trend in pakistani cricket for sometime. And this is a real sad thing to happen. I hope it was as a result of his bad or inappropriate english and he didnt really meant it word by word.

Good that Malik issue is brought up. If its an episode of lost-in-translation OR slip-of-a-tongue-after-a-banana-or-lost-cup, I am hoping he gets enough stick from both PCB and his English teacher. And an apology should follow... he has hurt his fans badly - at least, me.

MR SHOID, Will you please stop talking about talking about your religious sentiments in future. Please be aware that you are being watched by millions all over the world & immature talks like this will put a bad remark on your own country. Do you Know that Players Like Imran Khan & Wasim Akram had a great fan following in India?
To Tell YOU, ITs not RELIGION which can bring you supporters, Its only by the way you play good cricket.

In think he couldnt speak in English properly. His thoughts were in Urdu but he answered in English. Forgive him mates.

It can be hard to hide Pakistan's identity as Muslim nation is public statements. Even George Bush makes christian-like statements at times - "God bless America", "Crusade against terrorism", etc. Part of it can be intentional, partly its the way they are brought up and partly plain goof up.

Hi Mukul,
I read this article. Its really hurt when an international skipper comes and gives such kind of speech. I also felt the same thing when he has given this speech.
Anyways..

Chak De
Ritesh

Oh Commmon, surely you must be joking. Not everybody has the Queen's eloquence in English buddy. If the article was to be a resume booster, buddy you are in bad shape. The pride of the Pathan's, the bad decision of Joginder's last over, and to top it off the blasphemous Shoaib, dude, if you don't have anything about cricket to write about, you mustn't be writing here.

C'mon Mukul, you are making it a big issue. Everybody knows that Shoaib's English is not up to the mark and there are a lot of things going on in his mind when he is talking, probably translating his thoughts from Urdu into English. You can tell it by his face expressions. I saw his post-match interview myself and I was a bit shocked trying to figure out what was he trying to say. But if you realize its the month of Ramadan and all over the world Pakistanis are fasting and following cricket at the same time. Probably you dont know but back home special prayers are held at these moments.

So I think he just got a bit carried away in the selection of his words and the world recieved it in a distasteful manner.

Anyhow a great game of cricket. Congrats to India and heads-up for Pakistan!

Great article by Mr.Mukul!! It is inappropriate to talk about religion during the award giving ceremony. Even though I am an Indian, I always sympathasized with pakistan cricket. I felt sad for them when they involved in scandals, brawls etc. Shoab just undermined his captaincy and their team's performance by talking about religion. BUT I still wish them good luck!

Oh Common, surely you must be joking. Not everybody has the Queen's eloquence in English buddy. If the article was to be a resume booster, buddy you are in bad shape. The pride of the Pathan's, the bad decision of Joginder's last over, and to top it off the blasphemous Shoaib, dude, if you don't have anything about cricket to write about, you mustn't be writing here.

I agree Mukul. As an Indian Muslim I find it deeply offensive that Mallik chose to denigrate the collective lot of Indian Muslims rooting for India irrespective of religion. How does religion even come into this - its country first. Hopefully the PCB reprimands this outlandish behavior.

I would like nothing more than to let your elation pass for I am an Indian, I am a cricket fan, and I am elated too. But to say that Pataudi was the last great God?! Dude, have you heard of Kapil Dev? It's okay to be giddy but come on.

I agree with Sundeep .. I think this was more out of lack of knowledge of English knowledge than a Muslim sentiment.. From what I know about the Pakistani team and the culture of the people majority of this team represents, religion is a fundamental part but not an obsession which was evident from this statement. I still think that it was a little irresponsible on Shoaib's part and the irresponsibility was more due to lack of English skills .. take care all and congrats to all Indians ..

Hi Mukul,

Do you see how you have stirred a hornet's nest? This is in no way better a comment than Shoaib Malik made at the presentation desk. I will stp at this because this will only flare up more such arguments ending up in a unjust post-assessment of the tournament. A tournament that saw the rise of two super-powers in the sport of cricket. A tournament that beheld the rise of a new era of young stars coming up and taking the mantle of championing teams.

I believe more than 70% of the people who have posted before me have watched 'Chak De India!'. Did we get the message right? The message of playing the game for the love of it and winning it? Two youthful teams rose up to the occassion shoving aside mature mights of Australia and New Zealand. Surely, this is not what they deserve. Let's face it. They are young, they are expressive and whatever display they put up throughout the tournament was simply put 'fantabulous'. A difference of 5 runs takes nothing away from either of the teams.

Let's enjoy the moment. Not many of us Indians, here, grew up to sanity in '83. It is a moment to cherish for a 'lifetime' as MSK 'The Great' rightly put. But it also needs responsibility from our end to avoid inflammatory remarks or discussions to promote the game that took us two nations to echleons of immortality.

Long live India! More than walking - Keep Winning!

Guys, in my opinion it was a classic case of miscommunication. He did not literally mean what he said. But perhaps a little coaching or improving PR skills would not harm. Shoib should be aware that a billion people were watching him when he said what he did and that every word gets scrutinized in the media.

Having said that, religion and sports should not be mixed. Sounds cliched? Well, Pakistan, as some of my friends might be offended, has been guilty of similar things in the past and can do well without involving or discussing religion in public settings outside Pakistan. They are and have been a great team and should learn a few things.

When i heard that first, it sounded so stupid. Though Malik is not very good at English, i doubt that this is just a slip of the tongue. Even if it is, it reflects his thinking that pakistanis and muslims are synonymous. Religion is taking an important role in pakistan cricket in the recent times and this is reflected in what Shoaib malik said. As far as the names you have given in indian team, the last thing that come to my mind is their religion.

mukul..no matter how much you try to defend your article by cleverly quoting malik's statement 100% right do you really think that issue was so important..?? man look at the coments to your article they are more (or every single one of them..)regarding those religious grounds which you did not wanted..this the moment where two brilliant,enthusisatic, spirited & young teams triumphed in cricket..two teams which were never given a chance of reaching finals..these two young captains are in the process of providing best entertainment in the healthy rivalrly atmosphere which our two nations have tragically lacked in the past. should we just absorb these delightful moments and enjoy rather than making a big fuss about what seems to be a lack slip of the tongue at the end of high voltage drama.loosing the nerve can happen..at the end of the day that's what cost them a match and the championship..he is not meant to be best speaker or best politician..he's meant to be exelling in sport & i think he is on the right path.
let's enjoy the great moment for indian cricket..shall we??

Mr. Kesavan Shoaib might've had a foot in mouth moment, but you have done precisely the same thing. What he clearly meant was that he was thanking all the muslims who had prayed for the team. That includes Expat Pakistanis. And thank you and your cronies for pulling out the almanac and letting me know how India has more muslims than Pakistan. Quit acting like you're above others and stop being ignorant hypocrites who are simply waiting to attack the opposition. Like it or not, Pakistan is an Islamic nation and religion is an important part...

OKay like that man just lost a world cup final n dat too against INDIA..he waz sad n obviously dishearted..so like offcoarseee some thingz might cum out wrong..itz oki SHOAIB we're proud of ur team efforts..n i seriously SALUTE U!

you indians are buncha losers, i've heard of bad losers but never bad winners until now, india is not a majority islamic country no other test playing nation is, so muslims all over the world support pakistan which is a majority Islamic country, I as an american muslim got into cricket a while back and support Pakistan for the reason stated above, so stop being bunch of a holes and grow up, i mean honestly gain some reasoning skills

Your article does not make sense...it is smart to analyse a game instead of words. No one would catch a european's words if they say somethin incorrect in public!!just cause English mite be his second language. Shoaib and Dhoni are inspiring captains and will become good public speakers with time. Next time post somethin positive for the best game CRICKET

If GWB the commander in chief of the USA can declare the so called 'war on terror' as a Crusade then I am pretty sure that the young Shoaib Malik who was not educated at Princeton can say 'Muslims' instead of 'Pakistanis'(97% of whom by the way are muslims).
He was standing at the biggest stage of his life and and a mere slip of the tongue should not make him a demon.
Lets talk about cricket!.

As always, Kesavan hits the nail on its head. A captain of a team is supposed to know how to live in a pluralistic world and avoid bigotry. Shoaib Malik fails that test. I miss Inzamum now. Inzi is probably more religious, almost equally bad at English but had the good sense to avoid stupid, yes I do mean, stupid statements like Malik's.

Imagine an England or an Australian captain thanking Christians all over the world or an Indian captain thanking Hindus all over the world. For Allah's sake, don't put your foot in your mouth again, Shoaib!

This is exactly what I thought when I was watching the presentation. Pakistan cricket by no means represents the muslims watching cricket around the world. In fact, India has the 3rd largest muslim population in the world and Pakistan doesnt represent even one of them.

Kudos to the writer for bringing this point out

ok,for a while let us think this as sip of the tongue.why should he comment regarding the particular religion.one can do that onlty if he thnks about it.so my dear shoib pakisthan is not the only team which plays cricket so,learn to respect other nations and particularly other religions also.

I am a Pakistani (non-believer). I think Shoaib's comments were in poor taset. Please remember it is the holy month of Ramadan and a victory was certain for the believers. . It will take time to separate religion from cricket. The Pakistani team gets their strength from their faith. I really did not think that Shoaib's and his team does not represent those of us who are not on the same side of religion. If you have lived in Pakistan you know that talking about Islam and Allah is just "Hello" and "Whats up" in other nations. It is not saying that you only represent Islam. Even non-muslim use these words because it is part of every day language.

If India and Pak were one country, could any nation beat them in cricket? That is a question.

well...good to see a good positive thinking from everybody regarding this damn religion issue again in cricket....give him a break guys...he is more worried to face his country's people...because we asians are real maniacs when it comes to cricket..he led his team so well and did everything right he could have done given the team he got...if he had a couple of good top order batsmen...don't even think of the results with that bowling line up....its very sensitive issue but it happens in the thick of things and as said by many others here, he is very young, not good at english and has so much pressure on him and moreover is fuming with frustration to lose the match after so much of hardwork....it is very easy to say things sitting in front of a computer....
Mr.Mukul....nice article but could have dealt with the issue in a much mature manner like many others did here in blogs....

I am a Muslim from India living in US and rooting for INDIA. I was shocked when I heard what was being said in front of millions of people around the world by the captain of Pakistan. Mr. Malik simply made a wrong assumption that all Muslims were rooting for Pakistan! Mr Malik you have a right to believe what you want but making assumptions on behalf of the entire Muslim community is outright stupid and an embarassment to Mulims in general.

I must admit that when I read these words in the Cricinfo commentary, I was a little shocked. And I must also confess that no scribe would dare raise the issue - Let's just sweep it under the carpet is usually cricket's motto. So kudos to Mukul.

BTW, does the ICC's official code of conduct govern these utterances ? If not, it should. Otherwise, the post-match presentation could descent into chaos. I'm not citing just this incident - merely pointing out that the potential for it to go horribly wrong in the future as well exists. Somebody could, for instance, abuse the opposing team and get away with it. The penalties after the statements have been made are rather pointless.

Time will tell whether Shoaib was truly just nervous/inarticulate or there was a deeper and perhaps more disturbing sentiment at work.

But until then, 3 cheers to a great match, a great event and a well-deserved victory.

Great article Mukul. Your question warrants a forum for netizens to weigh in. It is important.

Personally, I am sure Shoaib didn't mean to say what he landed up saying. He must be meaning to thank his countrymen. It is Ramadan time, and thanking all things around makes sense and perhaps that's what he intended to say, he got caught in the moment and made it sound like it's us against the rest.

I sense there is mutual respect and recognition that is growing amongst die hard fans from both countries. Cricket won today.

Such an amazing game of cricket and is this what you have to say Shoaib and you Mukul?

this is the wonderful game. INDIA and PAKISTAN both team was played well. this is the big game . i am one of the great fan of INDIA..

What is being lost here is that Dhoni himself was not exactly seducing the audience with his repartees. Taking off his shirt etc. was not exactly a cricketing gesture. Neither was he friendly towards the losing team. He didn't acknowledge that Pak played a great game too. I'm a non-muslim Indian and I felt that if the Indians had given a hug to the Pak Captain then that would have been a great gesture befitting this difficult but close relationship of the neighbors! Afridi and Irfan were the only guys who kept their heads on when speaking at the presentation. Dhoni is no Dravid when it comes to talking to the mic. So spare Malik. Just enjoy the great win...Chak De India. Let the beer flow!

I just think it's taken out of context, and it was probably just a gaffe. That shouldn't detract from the cricket.

I have been reading the comments especially by my pakistani brother and they are coming up with... excuses one after the another after their captain had publicly made a very irresponsible statement. If you cant speak english - speak in ur native language. It just shows menatality of pakistani who think they are flagbearers of muslims all over the world. come on grow up..

Many in this board have asked to give Malik a break and it was a slip of the tongue. However, I think he meant every word he said because he stopped the presenter and said what he said slowly and precisely. It does not matter if he cant speak English, there is no room for religion in sport full stop.

as an indian muslim i felt a slight sting when i heard him say that,

but yeah i agree with a number of people on here who say cut the guy some slack - he's pretty young and it was likely a slip of the tongue. had this been a repeated offense the angry reaction might be more justified.

that said - hats off to the writer for having a keen ear..thats the point of journalism - to bring attention to things that might go unheeded. if anything its fostered a bit of healthy discussion which is always a good thing.

also - out of my own interest i checked some numbers (based on the oh so accurate wikipedia)
India's population : 1,129 million
Muslim %: 13.1
roughly 147 million muslims

Pakistan's Population: 161 million
Muslim %: 96
Roughly 156 million

lol...so...according to wikipedia...pakistan has a larger muslim population! (i always thought the opposite was true)..thanks for pointing this out mr. naveed

not that it matters really...both are so close.

Mukul,

I am an Indian, also a Hindu (which would usually be irrelevant, but makes for some qualification in this case), and I want to say that your post has left me disappointed.

Spare a thought, please, to the Pakistani players, who came into this match burdened by the expectations of a predominantly volatile and irrational fan-base (just like some Indian fans). Now, these are the same fans that laud heroes, raise them up to be Gods, and just like that, at a moment's notice, change colors and stone players' houses and issue death threats.

Living under such pressure is not easy, and performing is even harder. Nonetheless, these players dare to turn out for their country, knowing fully well that a bad performance might result in bodily harm of their loved ones back home. By partially quoting Shoaib Malik, you severely underemphasized the context in which he was making that statement. I believe he went on to say that he wants the fans to know that his team tried the best they could. As I was listening to him, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of desperate pleading from him, something which, if he could have said it, would have went something like, "Guys, we tried, it is only a game, and we tried to win. I am afraid of what you fans might do back home to the players' homes and families, and I am trying to do some damage control by trying to appease you."

Considering today's times, where fundamentalist and violent forms of Islam figure more prominently in the media, Malik's, in some ways, was a necessary statement. If there is anything unfortunate, it is that his fans have, over the course of time, created an environment where he felt compelled to make this statement.

Everyone is entitled to their thoughts, Mr. Kesavan, but, you could have exercised some restraint in airing yours. Like some here have said, this has all the ingredients of becoming a Muslim/Shoaib Malik/Cricket’s religiosity bashing forum, which I am sure was not your intention. You have visibility in the media, which brings responsibility. Yes, this responsibility includes accurate portrayal of what happens on the field, but what it doesn't is interpreting statements in erroneous, and potentially explosive ways. In the least, it begs mature thinking in favor of sensationalism.

The cricket match we were all fortunate to witness today was beautiful. It is why we all romance the sport. Please don't take away from that.

Regards,

dont make it a issue ..he said all these words to the muslims ..it has nothing to do with u guys ..anyways u guys played well and keep up the good work ..well played neighbours ..have a blast :)...see you in november :)

I dont think that he said something that should be taken out of context so much that... Mr. Mukul Kesavan would write an article about. I guess he does not have anything else to write about. The Indian muslims are INDIANS FIRST and THEN MUSLIMS and he knew that.He knows that the only people supporting Pakistan were Pakitani all around the world and we 99% happen to be proud Muslim. He was talkimng to his countrymen and wat the hell is wrong with you. Just write about other stuff and leave our amazing captain alone. You guys know deep down inside that you won both the games becuase of luck... plz go and practise some more before you start talking about the brightest and most talented captain in cricket world.

keep up the same rapport among our team

Let us leave at this. I will give him the doubt about language skills and he uttered Muslims instead of Pakistanis. In case it wasintentional he should lean fast as we had 2 Muslims in the team and had Zaheer was there then it would have been 3. I am certain better sence will prevail.

i think u guys should not forget about the moment he was facing that time, as a captain that was his first time he reached in the final of world cup and he lost, so we should not keep commenting on his statement, what ever he said that was only he was so confused and sad too, so please stop blaming him that much.......

shame on u mr mukul.....just read ur article and comments,the thing really surprise me the way u think mr mukul.am sure all u indian knows that pakistani team dont speak much english and shoaib malik didnt meant what he said so u should not even raised this subject but asusual typical indian who doesnt know how to forgive or understand the problem u started this thread.anyway i was going to say well played india but after reading this thread not now.see u soon buddy when it comes to one day series !!!!!!!!!!!!
long live pakistan

Shoaib....he shouldn't have opened his mouth. If he had to he should have spoken in Urdu. None of the Pakistani players (except a handful) can speak English. Anyway, I am an Indian muslim and MR ALI and all those who are defending Shoaib in the context of Ramadhan, he did not mean that. He was literally apologising to all muslims of the world. Who has given that idiot a right to represent the entire muslim population of the world. If it is Ramadan, why isn't he fasting instead of playing cricket. As a true muslim (as pakistanis often think they are) isnt it his first duty to fast for ALLAH rather than play for his ccountry. NO he did not mean anything other than what was uttered. He owes an apology, first to his country, then to all muslims of the world and then to the game of cricket.

I was shocked to hear that....unbelievably childish, ignorant and illiterate comment.

I am really sorry for pakistan

great article mukul, thats exacly how i felt when Shoaib uttered those unwarrented words. Its high time they realize that they are playing for a nation not religion.

Totally agreed with dwarak.... its a game but we people in asia do take it above the limit what if india wud have lost & dhoni wud have posted comments like this it happens after such a pressure game, hats off to both teams they really gave their best for the entertainment atleast most of the people are accepting it but be reallistic does every body in India & Pakistan think it that way... don't think so lets journey back WORLD CUP both teams got out & every body was on their heads to burn the teams out winning & losing is not every thing its about the game, so what he said some thing do we people in India really wanted Pakistan to win NO>>>> then why bother about it & secondly no matter what ever the result was the last 3 overs produced the best final overs of cricket in a long long time so please appreciate it don't ruin it by being sarcastic, its over now. Take care every body

This needs to be stretched beyond Shoaib. I completely agree with a statement once Shahrukh Khan made in one of his interviews somewhere "Educated Muslims are the nicest people"...it's just education and the "good" side of it! ...Simple. I am proud that I am an educated Indian and and I can shout at the top of my lungs that Shahrukh, Gulzar, Abdul Kalaam, Maqbool Fida Hussain and Azim Premjis are the nicest people of our generation

love your work mukul but give shoaib the benefit of doubt...sometimes some things truly are lost in translation!!

First of all MR. Mukul Kesavan i need to make one thing clear for you . Pakistani players as you know have a little problem communicating in english so whatever shoaib said and whatever u think he meant u need to really ask him to say that in urdu or HINDI cause u might not be able to understand urdu either , he didnt mean it liku have put it in ur blog ..its shame that person like u who has the power to write on cricinfo shoudl degrade a player like that . he wanted to thank muslim pakistanis who prayed for the team in ramadan so b4 u write sumthing stupid about sumone you dont even know u need to think twice ... people like you r the main cause of religion problems.. its easy for a desi to express his what he wants to say in his langauage .cause these guys they translate what they wanna say in their head b4 u they say so give a guy a break .and dont misuse ur power ..and also KINDLY DO NOT DELETE MY POST CAUSE I WANT THE PEOPLE TO READ THIS CAUSE I THINK YOU MADE A BIG MISTAKE BY BRINGING RELIGION IN IT

Please don't make a mount out of a molehill (which you always do). Don't you have anything else to focus on? Malik is not fluent in English and he chose the worng words or simply didn't organize them properly. Leave the poor guy alone. He's not a politician and didn't have to be politically correct. Lets relish the moment and enjoy the wonderful match. BTW Dhoni also forgot to congratulate the Pakistani team but as a first time captain (like Malik) he should be also excused. Please write something relevant next time you're using your keyboard.

I did not hear him say it. But having read the script, it appears to be a definite possibility that he was thanking people in Pakistan and people of Pakistani origin living all over the world (like in Canada, US, UK). The alternative perspective would mean that he was thanking Saudis and Iranians, and a whole lot of others. That does sound a bit far fetched. I would be careful not to be too judgmental without knowing for sure what he meant to say.

Well, yeah, it did feel a bit odd hearing that comment from Shoaib. I felt offended too, but in hindsight, I wonder if this was just a slip of the tongue. Perhaps he wanted to thank all the Pakistanis all over the world, and it just didnt come out right? He's not really the most fluent English epasking cricketer you'd find.

Perhaps we should wait and see if he offers an explanation for his statement (surely, he's already been made aware of this muck-up) before we pass any judgement?

If he did indeed mean Pakistani (and not muslim), it is forgivable, although he should try to be more careful in the future, heck, speak in Urdu/Hindi/Punjabi, there's no shame in that.

If he did indeed mean all muslims of the world, then it is an utterly despicable statement, questioning the patriotism of billions of Muslims around the world, not to mention his own team-mates Danish Kaneria and the batsman formerly known as Yousuf Youhana.

Lets hope it was just a slip of the tongue.

I'm pretty sure he was nervous and was thanking Muslims for Ramadan. Pakistani players have old tradition of not being able to speak. So people will always misunderstand them. Anyways, still at an international stage, he should watch what he says.

Kurshis- Indian Muslims are proud to be Indians. However, a Muslim is always a Muslim first. But that does not mean we support Pakistan in any way.

regardless of the comments, cricket won.
Really impressed with Misbah's fightback.India won the match but he won the hearts of millions of people.
At the beginning of the last over, Pak was on top.Think of that moment and as spectators/fans, all of us were tense. Brilliant execution with the courage of a tiger.

Malik isnt great when it comes to talking anyway. So might as well cut some slack here. Obviously he didnt mean in it in an offensive way and it was totally unintentional.

Being a Hindu, patience is in my blood. My sincere request to everyone is - please don't bring religion into cricket. Let Cricket be JUST THE CRICKET!!!!!!!

I absolutely agree with you Anwar. I dont know why these guys have to bring something like this after all we are the same people (sub-continent) I am a die hard fan of cricket(THE GAME). WE all know that most people in Pak are not good in expressing themselves in English and I knew something like this will become a big banner in articles. I can tell you guys he is one of the nicest guy you can hangout with and religion is far apart then sports even majority of pakistan understand that he was trying to say thanks to his fellow country men for their support from all over the world (which happens to be majority muslim) But again he will learn his lesson and will prepare some good speech next time :). Anyway I play with my Indian friends here in Houston and its always good competition. None the less India played really good I was really glad that Australia didnt will this trophy and I am sure WE all will agree on that :) Goodluck to pak future and Congrats to India.

Well written blog.....I never saw or heard malik making such statements. I hope and beleive the statement is because of his poor english rather than his approach to the game. If at all he really meant that, it is a real shame to the whole game of world cricket.

Roy David Choweller : "Not too long ago the country's cricket establishment found to it's dismay prayer was the way to success & not practice. Less mentioned the better else it gives credence to the utterence itself."

Comments like these really do annoy me. Yes the pakistani team have become more involved islam; it does not mean they do not have value in making effort. Look @ mushtaq ahmed for sussex for example; his county captain applauds his commitment. Then there is Mohammad yousaf: broke the record for the highest runs in a calender year. To say that these players did not make effort on their cricket by doing net IS REALLY BAFFLING. And then to blame their involvement in Islam as something that detracted them form net practice is a ridiculous comment. SO through your logic, pakistan got knocked out of the world cup in caribbean due to their islamic practices; that means all the indian team also was involeved in religious activity as they didnt really go far did they?...i think not.

BTW im a pak supporter; congrats to india for their victory. Ive got nothing against indian people / cricket. I just get heated when people are ready to get on some one's case over petty things. I lisetened to SM comments. Im under the impression he meant to apologies and thank all the supporters. Im sure he didnt mean to downgrade india and cause this debate. He even congratulated the indian team in urdu in the press conference. Give the lad a break

Again congrats to both teams for their heroic efforts

I absolutely agree with you Anwar. I dont know why these guys have to bring something like this after all we are the same people (sub-continent) I am a die hard fan of cricket(THE GAME). WE all know that most people in Pak are not good in expressing themselves in English and I knew something like this will become a big banner in articles. I can tell you guys he is one of the nicest guy you can hangout with and religion is far apart then sports even majority of pakistan understand that he was trying to say thanks to his fellow country men for their support from all over the world (which happens to be majority muslim) But again he will learn his lesson and will prepare some good speech next time :). Anyway I play with my Indian friends here in Houston and its always good competition. None the less India played really good I was really glad that Australia didnt win this trophy and I am sure WE all will agree on that :) Goodluck to pak future and Congrats to India.

shoaib malik indeed said the worng words... and the onlyh reason behind it is , which every one has unintentionally neglected ... these boys cant speak english properly... and thats wat happened there.. this is wat i think... and lets just not forget, its his first time.. he will grow more as a captain and more as a spokesperson of the team as time goes on...
indian won.. congratulation... pakistan lost... better luck next time...
bottom line ,a wonderfull game won today... not just a team....

If Shoaib Malik really meant what we have interpretted then it's pretty sad and he's not setting a good example. It is unfortunate that he's mixing religion with sport.
It was fantastic performance from Team India. We finally seem to have broken the Finals jinx. Kudos to Dhoni and his team. We can now forget our humiliating exit from the World cup earlier this year.

Why did Shoaib have to utter the word MUSLIM in a post match interview. It is totally uncalled for

Mr. Kesavan, all you said about Shoaib Malik is quite fine. But what about what you say about Dhoni being the only adult in the team ? You degrade Shoaib Malik (rightly so), but are yourself completely brash while ignoring how dravid won in england. You have forgotten it completely. You call yourself a cricket historian, but your fickle comments show that you are no different than the indian public who hit a man when he's down.

I think it was just a language skill error..im sure he meant to say pakistanis, but he said muslims due to the fact that the majority of pakistan is muslims, i think this article just makes a big deal out what he said, it wasnt intentional

I believe that Shoaib Malik who is more a rustic cricketer than a posh city slicker was simply trying to wish fellow Muslims for the Holy month of Ramadhan. Remember he had quoted before this finals itself that it was in the month of Ramadhan that they had beaten New Zealand in the finals and went onto win the 1992 finals and he wished the team would repeat the same feat here which unfortunately did not happen for him or the team. We all do understand that in today's world captains must be politically correct so as not to alienate anybody. Perhaps Shoaib will learn in time to rephrase his wishes.

I'm surprised at all the people who are cutting all kinds of slack for Malik. How come it is o.k. for him to say something like that and it would be terrible for a Christian or a Buddhist or a Hindu to say something similar? Double standards perhaps? Or is it dumbing down a segment of humanity and condescendingly not expecting too much from them?

If it is his English that is the problem, how come he hasn't apologized yet? He can apologize in Urdu or Arabic for all I care.

1. Shoaib Malik is not a media trained individual.

2. Shoaib Malik had just come off the most heart breaking defeat of his life.

Put those two together and you can understand why he said that. He looked absolutely broken during the interview. Plenty of the same people critisizing him for saying it might have said worse things under the circumstances.

Dear Mr. Kesavan,

I thought that was a very irresponsible article from you. I realize what Shoaib said was in bad judgement, and in all probability not intended to come out as it did, due to his lack of mastery in spoken english. But what you did by making a mountain out of a moehill and by faning the fire was totally irresponsible as an educated journalist. So I am hoping that Shoaib might have an excuse for making a not so very thoughtful comment (until he provides an explanation, unlike you I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt due to sensitivity of this comment), I am not sure however if you have an excuse for trying to create a stir, except that you want readers to be furious about something that should've best been ignored. But you made sure to bring it to everyone's attentions, for what purpose, I can only speculate.

Given the history of our nations, I would think if anything we need to be tolerant of each other and learn to be forgiving of each other, as in the end we are all brethern of the same land, but journalists like you end up creating a deeper divide between the people of the same origin and culture. I agree that if someone of Shoaib's status truly makes a malicious statement like that then he should be held accountable, but I sincerely believe that it was a mere slip of the tongue and his intentions were far from malicious. Then why try to create a big issue from it? The only reason I can think of is to create a debate where it is not needed, and reading some of the comments from these posts, it seems like you have been successful in doing just that.

So shame on you for creating an unwanted political/religious debate out of an unfortunate incident!

Mr Varun kaushik,
Hats off to you. You have summarised the situation very well and Mr kesavan should think twice and research the context before stirring a hornets nest. Afterall he is trying to portray the difference between thoughtfullness and thoughtlessness; isn't he??? or is their some hidden agenda??? Having a blog column does not give anyone the rights to incite hate. In quoting Malik,is Mukul promoting religious tones himself?? a thought for the bloggers.

Most likely the man misspoke. But continuing your logic, two US sprinters in the 1960 Rome Olympics did a black power salute on the winner's podium, thereby betraying all white americans on the team and in the country! Readership is down, eh Mukul?

Mr. Shoaib Malik, keep your religion to yourself. You and your likes are the folks running your own country aground. Not only have you shamed your country-men by uttering those silly words, you have let yourself down in front of the millions of Muslims, who may, err, cheer for a different Nation. I don't expect you will understand any of this.

Nicely put Mukul. But I dont think thats what he meant. This has been a problem with all non english speaking captains, to utter something when they have no idea what they are saying. If I am right in thinking that is not what he meant, then they should have a translator or should get atleast a crash course in mediating their thoughts. If what he said was what he meant, then it is too late to mend the way these ignorant people think.

I think Kesavan has dwelled too deep to find some spice for this article and drawn baseless conclusions. Shoaib Malik can't speak english properly, yet he is forced to make comments at post match presentations in ENGLISH. It was completely a misinterpreted comment. I feel any team should be allowed to comments in any language in order to express what they really mean. Example: Malik uses the word superb five times in one sentence when he talks. Trust me...everything ain't superb!! That's the only positive word he knows!

We people just need reason to blame some one & to moan 'cuz with out moaning we can't be asians, we say we are educated but we fell far short behind educated level always we pin point the things we don't like but we never say that was a good one, I won't say its time for us to grow up 'cuz that we should have done a long time ago, remember GAWASKAR comments after winning WORLD CUP c'mmon guys how abt that, leave that poor guy & his team alone we were expecting a good final & both teams did it very well, infact to be very honest the last two overs MISBAH did unbelievable but after all that efforts do u think any body will reallise that no he will be blamed for not scoring the last 5 runs in Pakistan for a very long time, we were rooting for YUVRAJ YUVRAJ wut did he do he failed, but since we've won no body will bother saying any thing, so wut we do focusing ourselves on the poor losing team. Guys they will allready get a hell of stick of losing this match, please don't be a part of it. We should be the one saying thanks for giving a nice competition every minute was worthy watching. We are saying he hurt all the muslims in INDIA just for a second if we think & asses ourselves are we really that good muslims any way may be some percentage but not all of us.

We muslims do hell of a lot of ugly stuff & say bad things but we get away with it 'cuz not body is listening & yet some one says it on TV & we get hurt, be open minded its just a game & pressure imagine just watching the match was making all the viewers so nervous guess how much nervous SHOAIB mite wud have been. just put u'r self in his shoes & u'll get the answer I know most of the people will say I wud never such a thing thats why they say
ITS EASY TO CRITISE BUT HARD TO EXERCISE........

To be honest, the moment Shoaib said those word, I thought along the same lines as Mukul. It might be that Shoaib is afraid of his fans reaction back home and that is why he said like that

Great match. Good article. Both teams produced their best. In the end one has to win, it is India this time. Who knows who will be victorious next time. Dhoni and Malik should be lauded for their captiancy skills. They have a bright future as captians. Indeed Malik's decision to bring spinners from both ends shows the cricketing brian he possess.
But the comments that were made are unnecessary. We should keep sports out of religion. His words, they may be lost in translation or he did not utter them in proper order or he might have used one word for another, shouldn't somebody be pointing this to him. Why not we think that Mukul has done that here. If everybody remains silent who will tell this to Mr.Malik? Shouldn't we appreciate Mukul for taking a step in this direction?

Shoaib is learning and with time shall become politically correct. In the meanwhile congrats to Team India on the victory, this from a Paki supporter.

I agree with you Mukul completely. I am Indian first at the world stage and then a muslim.Yes we all have very high emotions and sentiments for our religion but they should be for ourself and the way we live our life.
Shoaib Malik is one of those pakistanis who fails to understand that sport is not to be mixed with religious sentiments.
I adore pakistan from imran khan- wasim akram- waqar younis days. They fight like tigers in the ground but Shoaib claiming that all muslims would only support pakistan is utter nonsense.
I dont think it is a slip of tongue; over the years we have heard inzamam also make such comments.
all i can say is shame to shoaib and pakistani muslims who have not grown out of stature to be good humans.
First be a good human yourself and then comment on religious sentiments.
Great Job India- Great Job Indians- We are proud of you.
About Shoiab type pakistanis- well sit and ruin the rest of your life as what happened.

I am sure it's just the lack of proper understanding of the English language and the moment he was in. It is a very emotional moment for him and he is a young guy...he should b given some slack but having said that he should make it clear what he actually meant...and to those guys who are posting comments with all broken English of theirs, giving false reasons of 'it being ramadan' and all those stuff, at least for once think rationally and then talk...Malik already created some nuisance with his statement and you guys please don't talk something else when you mean something else...

Give him a break. English is clearly not his first language and he is new to public speaking. He is not articulate, the occasion got to him, and Im sure he did not mean any offence to anyone. It came out wrongly thats all. After all Danish Kaneria is a star test leg spinner for Pakistan and a Hindu who has performed with passion against India and Mohammad Yousuf himself was formerly a Christian and always a star batsman. Yes the Pathan bros are Muslim as is SRK, todays cheerleader. But please can these Indian fans cut the lecture on secularism and pluralism because it just doesnt quite wash, when one hears of the plight of the vast majority of Indian Muslims being worse off than Dalits and massacred in Gujarat and Mumbai while the authorities look away. Well done to the Pathan bros and the Steven Seagal pony tailed overactor. But they are too few and far between for Indians to turn this into a proof of Indian tolerance and multiculturalism. So please give it a rest and enjoy the victory that Misbah gifted you for the second time in less than a fortnight.

I was a shocked too when I heard him say that and being a Pakistani supporter I just said too myself, "Oh dear what has he just said."
I was hoping the media would not notice that and make that a talking point and butcher him.

Yes I agree that was his ignorance speaking and I felt offended by it but lets remember his predecessors have been Inzamam ul Hag and others who have brought in so much religion into the side perhaps he was bound to think on those lines.
I am sure the Pakistan Board will have a word with him about that and he will be careful the next time he speaks.

I think he meant all the Pakistani supporters and not all the muslims in the world. It was a fantastic match.

As many have pointed out, it was probably a slip of Malik's tongue - something that can happen to someone unintiated to the entire world listening to you and watching you.

But that only goes to prove what was on Malik's mind. A slip of tongue is defined as the moment when you do not adorn or wrap your true feelings to make it more presentable. Even if Malik had told more suave and graceful sentences, now we know that he was thinking "Muslims" in his head.

That said, there are also thousands of Hindus who think "we are playing Muslims" when India plays Pakis. Malik is not the only person to think like that. Discussing the roots of such thinking will be a lesson in history, psychology and religion. And for god's sake, this is cricket!

We should not punish somebody for a crime that sometimes we commit too. That is exactly why I think we should forgive Malik and give him a big hug and say, hey mr. muslim - we are hindus but we love Pakistan dearly. Love is the only cure to this.

imagine how stupid he would sound if Bangladesh had just beat them instead of India

Why was Shahrukh looking like Michael Jackson? Hair style, jewelry, black suit, makeup.. Odd..

I was also a bit offended when I initially heard that, but realize that its a natural mistake from his end as Pakistan is so overwhelminly muslim, he unintentionally used muslims, where he meant pakistani's. give the man a break. he lost a final so narrowly and was not in a great state of mind to talk and that too in a language he does not seem to be comfortable in.

He is a native hindi/urdu speaker and words dont come out right when you have to speak in english when billions are watching and 'judging every word you speak'. It was a honest mistake.. definitely forgivable.
Little bit of common sense -- if thats what he has in mind, would he say it? No! Its cricket that has won today..lets not make it a victory for religion.

Please give Shoaib a break. You can see from his English that it is not good. He meant Pakistanis all over the world. It is a month of Ramadan and lots of praying going on for the world cup and any one after losing everything they had can mixup some words.

I am sure he meant Pakistanis not Muslims. Don't make a big deal out of this. I hope this thread is removed.

Atleast someone double check this before making a mountain out of mole hill. Shame on the blogger to get cheap publicity out of it.

You should work for some tabloid instead of cricinfo.

Good starting point Kesavan to discuss on the ridiculous statemnt uttered by Shoaib. These statements should definitley be condemned for its very nature of disrupting the game's spirit. Shoaib is a BIG-TIME MORON in not getting the fact that MOM was Irfan Pathan (a Muslim). Yousuf Pathan, also a MUSLIM, had hit a second-ball-career six in the first over obviously not supporting pakistan. Immatured ppl and statements like these sure are irritations and better stay away from cricket.

I too did hear it LIVE & found the remark by Shoaib Malik odd.
Now I'm not trying to be too judgemental over here but I completely agree with what Mukul Kesavan said...

But u know what... Lets just spare a thought for that poor guy, having lost the Mother of all matches inspite of an inspiring performance must have emotionally shattered him....

Lets not make a fuss of all this anymore...
& this Forum is about talking cricket...
all Social/Political/Intellectual stuff can wait for an appropriate forum.

CONGRATS to all INDIAn fans!!
LETS CELEBRATE !!

Sometimes it really hurts, but don't you think, reason lies in us. I am purely Indian supporter, and I know we over-enjoyed this moment because we won over Pakistan.
Hating each other is a part of our blood and thats what we learnt from begining of our life, though it is really childish for us. When watching 1992 final, I was praying pakistan win that match. Definitely I like their team and sport spirit, their blowing aggression, but reacting it over religious is never accepted. I am happy that India won and Pakistan is runner up. Both won actually, if you see them carefully. I could be equally happy even if pakistan was winning the match, because after leaving India/Pakistan, I could see that whoever wins, thats our country and we won at end. Both are my mother land, and I proud for that, but feel sorry for their bloody roots and bloody national politics based on haterous nature to each-other.
I CONGRATULATE BOTH TEAMS ON THEIR WINING THIS TOURNAMENT. Keep in mind, this is not from one country's representation, this is merely a company such as BCCI or PCB and their mates. Not playing on a country. If you are winning for country then go to Olympics and win gold there.

Arshad, You hit the nail on its head..

I understand whatever may be the reason why shoiab might have said those words.. Statement made is made. we need to move ahead and enrich people with keeping religion out of sport.

Though and Indian and Hindu, I am a fan of pakistan cricket and like every talent pakistan has and wish we had one team India and Pakistan together :)

Congrats to Dhoni who held his nerve. And thanks to pakistan team who gave us an amazing final in any world cups so far. It was breathtaking!!

!!KEEP RELIGION OUT OF SPORT!!

The comment was inappropriate and someone ought to educate Shoaib of all his responsibilities. He is a young man and will learn with time. the article was good and correct, however all the comments give the feeling of an overkill.

Let us not compound the error by escalating sentiment, instead let it pass as an error of youth

A look at the other side - Shoaib may have gotten a lot of support from muslims (though not all) all over the world and was moved to acknowledge them. Let PEACE prevail.

What a great way to end a spectacular tournament! Well played, India and Pakistan. Hope the youngsters of both the teams carry the momentum on.
Brave of you to have written about Malik's comment, Mukul.. it was totally unwarranted(the comments at the podium that is), and i like many others who were genuinely enthused by the decrease in rhetoric and the increase in quality of the recent India-Pakistan cricket matches are very very disappointed. May be its just that as many put here, he just couldn't express what he wanted to say, but, hey, on a stage like this, why oh why bring religion on at all?
am a secularist and i do believe that religion is a very personal thing and not to be flogged around in public, but then what if an Indian, English or an Australian captain were to utter similar thoughts in such a public forum? all hell would break lose.. so why shrug off the matter now? Stages like this and what people say influences the thought process of many thousands and thousands..the least what one can do is be careful of what one is saying and events like this only highlight how important it is, to be aware and understanding of the sentiments of others around one too.
Hope the spirit of the game doesn't get drowned in one man's moment of thoughtlessness..

bang on target mukul....that was the weirdest thing i have heard in the presentation. Till that point i thought that shoaib malik is a smart and an intelligent individual but sadly he proved me wrong. Great Post!!!

I was appauled by the Pakistani captain's choice of words, or perhaps his ignorance. He certainly needs lessons on being progressive and a good role model. I have great respect for the rest of their players for their proffesionalism.

I can't believe you actually wrote half an article on that, do you have nothing better to do? It is obvious to anyone but the most cynical that Shoaib Malik did not mean what you are implying he meant.

There is no benefit in trying to stir things up. So, If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything.

Grow up and act your age.

Hi,

I agree with lot of folks on the blog. Lets not make a mountain of this. It might be a language problem or translation issue.

Lets enjoy the moment of beating the Aussies/South Africans and NZ's.

Iam a muslim from india Mohamed Ibrahim and iam proud to be an indian.Though i have always cherished indian victories and have been dejected when they lost,i think cricket is a seprate religion in itself so no religion or race should be mixed in it apart from cricket itself.i dont know wether it was just a slip of shohib's tongue or was intended by him, a mistake is a mistake.Shohib Malik is one of my most favourite batsman and i felt bad about pakistan losing the final but that one sentence made me take a deep breath to accept that he actually said that.Well what ever the case might be we cricket lovers(not pakistani,not indian not any other nationalist) have only one request "please dont mix any religion with cricket".we will lose the great taste of it.at this same time i want to thank both indian n pakistani cricket teams for such a cracking cricket match.

Mukul, good article, but somewhat surprised you are wishing to seemingly take the glow away from a great match. Malik is not as eloquent at English as Dhoni, Dravid, Ganguly or Tendulkar and I too think he meant ‘Pakistani's round the world.’ Pakistan was created as a Muslim state, and in his confused and disappointed state he said the word Muslim instead of Pakistani. Pakistan’s tend to regard their nation as a Muslim one, and I feel this is a slip of the tongue and anyone with any decency would not expect there a need to be an apology. Malik is no Inzi - give him some credit.

Pakistan has some 10 millions non Muslims, 3 famous ones have played cricket, Anil Dalpat, Kaneria (his nephew) and Yousuf Youhana. The world has 1,200,000,000 muslims, and no-one could suggest they are all supporting Pakistan’s 150 million. You summed up all the muslims playing for other countries so I won’t again, but I think you are taking this too far and forgetting why you are on Cricinfo - FOR THE CRICKET!

If you have taken offence, I think you should speak to Malik directly, otherwise it just looks like you are trying to fan flames of discontent in your position as a journalist and I am disappointed you are abusing this mantle.

A thrilling game and finale. While Gul bowled wonderfully, RP and Pathan hardly had bad runs, Afridi got the wickets (and smacked a few boundaries along the way) but as with Hayden and his highest runs - his contribution did not lift the trophy or get his side in a position to do so. As with Afridi’s 45 ball 100 against, ironically, India a couple of years back - all the talk for the remainder of the series was on the Afridi effect - YUVRAJ’s 6 sixes, 50 in 12 balls and 70 in 30 balls was all the pre-final talk and though he could not pull this off today - he lit up the tournament and was my Man of the Series for his unbelievable skills. Afridi, Sehwag, Gibbs, Gilchrist and even Mascarena’s would have been in awe, as we all were.

Mukul, come round for tea sometime and we’ll talk about life issues (and cricket!). We have enough hidden agenda’s in this world, don’t stoke up the flames - you’re no Bollinger.

Shoaib's from my city Sialkot and I know him personally and he didnt mean a thing other than the fact that muslims across the world are fasting in the month of Ramadan and those in Pakistan were praying for Pakistan to win , like in 1992. He wanted to thank them for their prayers and here the Writer, intentionaly knowing this, still makes a mole out of a mountain. My question to Mukul is: have you ever talked to a Pakistani player in Urdu. If u haven't please do that, u'll be struggling to keep up. English, thats another matter altogether.
This reaction at this forum is a classic example of the fact that **people actually think about religion when these two nations play** , religion is embedded in our gene no matter what. A bunch of pretenders you all are , scrutinizing this statement from a man you don't know.

Let me first congratulate you on the excellent article.

It really irked me when i first heard what the CAPTAIN said, to be frank i don't accept the trash talk of the captain not being good at english etc, being a captain of a team and at such a big even i am very sure he meant exactly what he wanted to.

After such a great match the mood was spoiled by just one statement according to me faith is something you keep to yourself, don't show it too much publicly or try to force onto others, you spoil your own image.

Entire world must have been watching this match and he has insulted all those who had supported pakistan. Let them get it first that its a game and religion and faiths have no place here.

I have gone through all the comments added till now and have seen the excuses given for Shoaib's comments. His English is flawed, he did not mean it, blah blah blah.

Well, may be Shoiab did not mean what he said, may be it was a slip of tounge, but this comment was very irresponsible, irrelevant, out of context and very provocative specially for all Indian Muslims. If he thinks that Muslims around the world would be supporting his team, then he has got it terribly wrong. The fact that a guy named Pathan won the Man of the Match award is poetic justice to what he said. If you look at the margin of victory, you can say that six another Pathan hit at start of the match made the difference. For us its India, we are and we will always be Indians first.

Yes, its Ramadan, and I and many other Indian Muslims are fasting and praying, and we pray for our team. Also, he should have also thanked many of his non Muslim supporters in Pakistan and around the world.

In the end I would like to say that its high time that the Pakistani players find the right balance between the game and religion. They are playing excellent cricket right now. I dont question their faith, but they need to keep that to themselves. 100% Christian Australian team has won the world cup 4 times. I have never seen them thanking Jesus on stage. As the old Urdu saying goes, "Himmat a Mardan, Madede Khuda." God helps those who help themselves.

I am an Indian and I always followed Indian team but at the same time I admire lot of great players from Pakistan and Pakistan team as well and I watched the whole match and I enjoyed every moment of it. Whether it bowling from Gul and batting from Gambhir and by just looking into the match seeing India and Pak are playing in the world cup final is a treat when lot of people say they are not professional and consistent. But Mr. Shoaib ruined the whole party by saying those things. Next time be care mr. Mallick.

Well written article...KUDOS TO INDIA..
I hope shoaib meant 'pakistanis' and not 'muslims'..hope he'll clear that out soon..

The words uttered by Malik are disappointing but he is a cricketer not a journalist or a politician. I would cut the guy some slack; more so because most muslims other than those in southeast asia don't even know what cricket is. So Malik perhaps really didn't mean what he said.

At one hand, we have a good cricketer and a poor communicator who -- most likely -- had no intention of creating politics. At the other hand, we have a eloquent writer who is politicizing something that really wasn't a big deal. Who is to blame?

It was just a slip of tongue guys... he meant to thank all Muslims who prayed for Pakistan in the month of Ramadan... now you might be a Muslim who prayed for India instead... and there's nothing wrong with that.

After such an exhilarating final,it is hard to believe that the most memorable thing for many here is the spontaneous utterence of Malik.Did Malik wax lyrical about his team's performance? Did his 'speech' betray any, and I repeat any, indication of being planned ahead of the presentation? I very much doubt so. What Malik intended to say was to thank his fellow Pakistanis, more than just a few of whom live outside Pakistan, who would have loved to see their country lift the trophy. Clearly, in his haste he mistakenly said Muslims for Pakistanis 'all over the world' since Pakistanis are, indeed, mostly, but by not means only, Muslims by religion. He was cetrainly under no delustion that Muslims paralysed the world over as they watched with bated breath deperately hoping for Pakistan's triumph.Malik must be thinking about the reception he would receive at home and abroad from fellow Pakistanis and whether he let them down. He was by no means implying that all or that only Muslims backed his team, much less questioning or scorning the loyalties of Indian Muslims, about whom he clearly did not say anything. To assume otherwise would be ridiculous- and no less parochial than what many are tacitly associating Malik with.

One of the best finals anyone can bargain for. An India-Pakistan encounter has been, is and always will be a show stealer...get them both in the finals with both teams performing the best they have in years, is the icing/frosting on the cake (to say the least) for a high energy tournament like this. i'm a huge Indian cricket fan, and every single time India is ousted from tournament, my second choice is either Pakistan or Sri Lanka, only because of the electrifying (most read as unpredictable) style of cricket they play.
Getting to the point - is this blog really necessary??? why cant people just be happy with the entertainment that these two fantastic teams have provided us with? Long live Pakistan and India cricket!

Dhoni has shown amazing maturity and poise in his first outing as captain. A good challengers to the tottering oracles who monopolise Indian Cricket.
But to annoint him as "the only adult" and last Samurai of Indian cricket, in my humble opinion, is a bit premature.

@ danishamin .. Yes shoaib should be given slack, agreed!!
but dear Danish..are u for real ?
do u only support Pakistani team for they are muslims ? (They are ofcourse) but they are great & passionate cricketers with a rich history and a great fan following in India too. Not because the fans in India have the same religion but because of the talented players pakistan produces. Im an Indian and with an unfluttered mind feel like I must shout out loud..religion and sport have no OVERLAP!
@ mukul- my man..im glad u have hung the skeleton from within the closet in broad daylight..

I think Mukul is making a mountain out of a molehill. English is not Shoaib's first language. So in the immediate aftermath of a nerve-shredding affair, an innocent, thanks to all Pakistanis became a reference to Muslims!

Cricinfo should stick to what it does best - reporting and discussing criket matters.

Thanks Mukul. At last an article that points out the idiocy of Shoaib's comments. I am surprised that his comments did not find any mention in any of the leading news websites. After such a stupendous game of cricket, when I was almost ready to hand it to Pak for a terrific match, his comments spoilt it all for me. And to all those people who say it was a mere slip of tongue...well, wait till an Indian/English player says sorry to all Hindu/Christian fans of their team on losing and then let us see how generous everyone is about it! When you represent your country at such levels, there is a huge responsibilty on your shoulders to watch your words...defeat or no defeat...

why cannot pakistanis understand that the game was between two countries and not between two diverse religion. the comment made by pak skipper will only earn him anger rather than the sympathy by much wiser muslim cricket fans

Please don't make another mistake by saying...
"he was thanking muslims who had sent him messages from all over the world not thanking all the muslims in the world..."

What about non-muslim people who sent messages/wishes to pakistan team...why he chose only Muslim people to say thanks?

Why even he should utter word "Muslim"? and please don't point to his communication skills, his com skills are much better when compared to previous Pakistan captains. Was he thinking about his in-laws who might be supporting him?

He was wrong to say it, plain and simple.

Dear Mukul,
I think you've allowed your emotions to take over while commenting on how Shoaib allowed his emotions to take over during the awards ceremony. I completely support the post below by another reader of your wonderful blog. I've pasted it here for reference.
Your column is wonderful, keep it up.
-Arjun.

"Posted by: Nouman 1 hour, 59 minutes ago

...He thanked people in Pakistan and Muslims around the world. What did he thank them for? For praying for/supporting the Pakistan team. How does that question the loyalty of Indian muslims? If you're a Muslim and didn't support Pakistan, he didn't thank you. If you're not a Muslim and you prayed/supported Pakistan, he didn't thank you. Perhaps he forgot you, perhaps he didn't want to thank you or perhaps he doesn't know you exist. He isn't under any oblgation to thank anyone, so you can't hate him for that.

In the future, stick to cricket."

Excellently said shakeel, i wanted to convey the same thing and thanx for doing it.

I firmly believe that Shoaib blurted out that sentence due to his lack of command over English. I can almost say for sure that he just wanted to thank the muslims during the month of ramadan praying for him and his team. Regardless, the guy is as entitled to say what he wants just as Dhoni is entitled to take off his shirt in front of more than a billion viewers. That again was at the spur of the moment. So Mr. Mukul Kesavan, for heavens sake don't give this a communal or a religious color because everyone had fun watching the final for the entertainment it provided. You don't need to get attention by highligthing something that came out of a mouth of a 25 year old who was leading his team in the world's biggest stage and had just lost the final. I'm a Kashmiri muslim and support Pakistan and will say it openly. Shah Rukh and Irfan were born in India and they can show their allegiance to India, none of my business. Get on with the game stop messing up a good game with your attention seeking tirade.

When you have mic and millions of people watching on, mistake could happen, let's move on,
-Malik should have avoided the word "Muslim" and used "world wide pakistan supporters" instead.
-Dhoni should have acknowledged Pakistan teams for their wonder full performance.
It is easy to say such things sitting on a sofa from our launch room.
Congratulations to Dhoni and team, Keep it up, As a NRI living abroad we all look forward to see more good cricket from you guys! also well played Malik and team you have good future to become one of the top tems in cricket.

Okay guys - stop wasting your time in analyzing an unintentional mistake committed by a new and young losing captain. Just substitute the word "Muslims" with the word "Pakistanis" and the problem is solved! He was probably nervous because of the big occasion and he was asked to speak in English which for sure is not his mother tongue!

you guyz misinterpret everything and try to find every little detail to embarrass the pakistanis......india won....be happy!!

it was a fitting finale for an exciting tournament.this by far i guess would rank next to India's 83 worldcup win.its a great feeling to be crowned WORLD CHAMPIONS again

I think It was just poor communication from Pakistani captain and he didn't mean it. He was very uncomfertable talking in english and should have answered in Urdu instead.

and if i remember clearly, i believe dhoni did not congratulate Pakistan for a wonderful match. Its only sportsman spirit, but me being a supporter of cricket expect both captains to thank each other and their opponent team for the day. I expect mr mukul to write a 1000word script on this minor issue as well. afterall, i believe new inexperienced captains, like Malik and Dhoni, need to bite the rock on their first day on the job eh?

Ignore. It doesn't matter what he said. In the end, one team lost and the other won and everyone else had fun watching it.

I'm curiously wonder what he might have said had they won? Would he have thanked Muslims and Islam for winning their cup for them because to me, it sounded like he was apologising to the latter that they lost. That can't be right can it?

Very well said.......I was very upset after hearing Paki cap.'s words....but i give him a benefit of doubt and think he should have talk'd in urdu. None the less AMAZING job by India...brillantly played and good job in the death by the bowlers and esp. fielders

I am very PROUD TO Have Muslims like Irfan and Zaher play for India.

I think Malik is not good in English so what he spoke wast not what actually he want to say. As there was no need of religion to point out there.

Thanks Mukul for speaking out. I could not watch the match live but I read the statement in cricinfo commentry. I was taken aback to read that. I just concluded watching highlights and I still cannot believe what he said.
I was also taken aback because none of the other articles spoke about it. So I must thank you for speaking out. For once, I felt that this pakistan team was being well lead but Shoaib Malik just lost every ounce of respect that he had earned. I would really like to hear from him whether he really meant what he was saying. I hope to hear that he was lost in translation as many of the sub-continent players do, at times. I still hope that is the case.
I do not want to see players making cricket a stage for religious divisiveness and making political statements. To do this on such a big stage, purposefully, is just wrong.
Everyone has a right to believe in their religion but to suggest that every Muslim that does not support Pakistan team is an insult to them. I very very strongly object to it. This kind of divisive attitude from the people who are idolized by masses alienates more people and gives chance to people who just want to use this kind of message for their propoganda war, on both sides.
I still hope that he did not mean it. I really do. It hurts me. This, at a moment, when we had an opportunity to forget everything and celebrate cricket, beyond religion, beyond nations, beyond everything else but cricket.
I still hope.

I agree with Mukul - However I do believe that by commenting on this he has done what he sought to prevent. Make a political and religious issue out of this..make angry people angrier and breed more hatred. Restraint is wonderful. Try some..
And finally - please remove this entire chain of comments, including mine and the article. Lest keep this a cricket site Mr Kesavan.

I agree, i was jolted by surprise and shock the moment I heard that statement from Shoaib. I hope it was just the nervousness and the tension of losing to india that made him utter the statement. One of my friends suggested that the statement was not intended and it happened because of his limited english vocabulary and hence the direct word-to-word translation from Urdu. It could be true. Any case, give the benefit of doubt to the captain and let us not make this a big issue.

Wow, India won the cup!!! that's a really exciting news. I couldn't believe my eyes when i saw that. But Malik's statement was dejecting. In India there all sorts of religion, like muslims, hindus, sikhs, christians, jains, buddhists, jews, parsis, and many more. It's a victory for all of them. Muslims all over the world didn't lose. ...It's a victory for Indians as whole (includes all religion, languages, ethnicity). Pakistan played fantastic so it's a victory for them too. but religion shouldn't be brought over here. India rocks!!
After, Sania beat Martina Hingis, India winning Nehru cup football, India winning asia cup hockey, India winning tri nations rugby, and then India winning this world cup. What could be a better year.
It's time for all Indians to forget the differences they have and join together in celebration.!!!!

Mukul, I was also stunned when malik uttered his words, but I reckon, it could not be premediated in the heat of that moment. The man must have undergone tremendous stress and would have uttered the words without thinking. He seems to be a simple guy and I dont think any religious thoughts should actually be associated with it. Lets forget what he said and enjoy the moments that made for one of cricket's glory days. All Indians and Pakistanis (players and fans) had a superb camaderie during the game and focussing on something that's best forgotten, should not spoil the taste!

And now just to talk cricket..
Dhoni y getting in Yousuf Pathan and making him open, reminds me of one of the greatest captains in world cricket - Imran Khan!!! So we have a very young Imran Khan for India .. Wow!!

Muslim is always a Muslim first?Mr.ali nihal shame on you.try to defend a brother when he is wrong and mixing religious with the sports is very wrong.It was well played and remarkable game.But somebody has to lose. It was a wrong statement,he should come out and correct it.I am a bangladeshi muslim and was rooting for India.Lets keep the sports out of religious,race,etc.just injoy the game.thanks

I was watching the match and at one point felt very proud, moved when Irfan (a muslim) bowled to shahid afridi and sreesanth took the catch (a christian) and Dhoni (a hindu) jump in joy followed by Harbhajan( a sikh) race towards Irfan to celebrate the dismissal. Essence of India.
Looks better in light of Maliks immature comments.

Congrats India!!!! - Well played, almost gave alot of us heart failure in the final over. Shoaib Malik's comment came across as controversial - quite uncalled for - What about Danish Kaneria and his match winning efforts for Pakistan down the years - What about Yousuf Youhana's efforts when he WAS Yousuf Youhana and Christian!!! It reminds me of a Viv Richards comment made in the caribbean wqhen West Indies were still a cricketing power. It went something like Cricket is an African man's sport. Obviously this ignored the contributions to made to West Indian cricket by Kallicharran, Khannai, S. Randin, Chanderpaul, etc. It is quite needless and quite embarassing. I am an indian from Guyana and us Guyanese always have a soft spot for India especially the guys from Bhojpuri region!

The moment i heard him using that phrase i knew he would be in trouble because there are mant media scandal inventors out there who live on such silly mistakes. I am so sure the poor young guy who had worked so hard over past few months was disappointed and feeling low due to such close defeat. He is not good with words like Wasim Akram or Dravid. Look at Dhooni I have not seen him in single presentation giving credit to others. He has been singling out his players and their efforts or his captaincy skills.."I told guy i dont care if we loose i just want you to ball in right place"...Afridi congratulated Indian team, Sunil Gavasker termed it as a win for cricket. I think we should let him go with this mistake. He has a lot time to learn. I am sure Mukul Kesavan doesnt have to go and watch whole match again to forgive him over his one mistake. It was a beautiful match played in high spirits by both wonderful teams, only person i feel sorry for is Misbah who deserved to be Man of series

lets just not start holy war here.. this could be a mistake of communication. lets give him a break. I understand from the point of view of the writer you have nothing else to do but write. lets just write something good. ya!!!! This two country have played excellent cricket here. appriciate that and please don't spoil the mood thanks.

Just wanted to point.... India stands 4th in Muslim population. Its after Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. And it is not wrong for him because he does not come from a secular country. And above all muslim means "those who believe in submission to GOD"... OK this might be a bit more than wanted, but certainly this can be forgotten by those who consider themselves secular or able to separate cricket and religion.

Mukul, I usually like your articles but I think this time you have abused your power in a way. I understand that you are shocked with what Shoaib said. I was too. But having said that, can you be absolutely sure that he meant that Pakistan plays for only Muslims? Could it have been a lack of fluency in speaking English? Are you telling me that you, who has probably never spoken to Shoaib ever, knows what the exact answer is? And even if we assume that 'you' think that he said he plays for only the Muslims, is it ethical for you to publish your speculation on this cricket site because it is nothing else but a speculation? Especially when you know that religion is such a sensitive topic.
In a way, you have succeeded in taking the focus away from the cricket and highlighting religion. I am sure that was just what everyone wanted just a few hours after an amazing game. And by the way, I hope you have read Imran's excellent comment on your use of the 'loser' word for Shoaib. Should you be judged by the same standards that you set for Shoaib or by a harsher standard, given that you are a writer (in English) and that unlike Shoaib, you had the opportunity to proof-read your article and correct any errors before publishing it.

Malik is not that religious or what you guys calling 'Fundamentalist', he must have mixed up 'Pakistanis' with 'Muslims', m sure. I was also feeling viered of listening to his comments. But I think he can be given a discount of error as he was really nervous. I m a Pakistani Muslim but I dont have any discrimination about any other religion or i dont thnk Pakistani think that they are playing for islam instead for Pakistan. Thanking Allah is a personal act. Islam teaches to be Patriots to your soil.
RAHUL!!! you r absolutely right Misbah has won the hearts of the millions.

Guys give Shoaib a break......he was under lot of pressure ....Pressure of All Irrational Fans ....Pressure of India- Pakistan Match.....Pressure of General Mush.....Pressure of ALL MUSLIMS (LOL) WORLD WIDE ...... and Mother of All PRESSURE ----Ding Ding----BOB WOOLMER CAse ......ahhahaahhahahahqa

You're looking way to much into the comments of someone who can't even speak english that well. No one should take that seriously, because if said in Urdu, his reply would make much more sense.

CricInfo has pointed out a good thing but i request not to make it an issue by publishing that huge articles over it.

Seriously all you guys...especially Mr Kesvani, give him a break, please! He's not the most fluent speaker of English and he doesn't have to be either to play international cricket. He probably meant to say Pakistanis or Pakistani supporters but got confused in all the chaos that a post-final presentation ceremony is. To all the silly fans (including the writer) who are feeling so offended and digusted, try putting yourselves in his shoes: speaking to a worldwide audience and that too after losing a world cup final. As far as all Pakistanis are concerned, we know he is one of the most liberal, moderate and open minded guys in this outfit. So please, stop pondering over this minor, senseless issue and savour the big positive of the day, i.e. Quality Cricket!

Really surprised at MR. Kesavan to bring this matter up on his blog.

I think a lot of people including our writers of cricket are totally missing the essence of the win here.

It was a true game of genius. Both teams played exceptionally well. Half way though I had my money on Pakistan, although I am Indian, I thought Pakistan had done really well to ristrict India to under 160. The won quite a few decisive battles during that first half.

India's opening pair vs Pakistan opening Bowling attack ==> Pakistan Won
Yuvraj vs Umar ==> Pakistan Won
Look at some of the previous big game and see if that has been a good reason why India has emmerged on the winning side.

Rest of the innings had gone as I had expected.

But what happened in the second half of the game was something new this New Look Indian team has developed, that is so Non Indian of them.

To win a game of basis of there bowling when Batsmen has not done much. To be honest, it is so Wasim-Style of this new look Indian Team, dont say it's over till it's over, or till the last ball is bowled.

The way India bowled was truely sensational, they bowled with Fire, with Reason, with Resposibility, with Control.

Every thing frome the first ball of the game till the fall of Shoiab Malik's wicket had gone Pakistan's way. After his wicket India had a first look at the trophy. It was crucial because Pakistan has been in similar situations in the past games and has come out as easy winners at the end. India has also been in similar situations against Australia and South Africa while defending totals and has taken crucial wickets at crucial times, that is just not the Indian way of winning cricket matches. From there onwards India kept picking important wickets one after other some thing other teams could not do against Pakistan, because of there strong middle order. Keeping Joginder Sharma for the last over is not a fluke, that was Dhoni's strategy he used successfully against Australia as well. Mantra is simple, use inexperienced bowlers when pressure is on the batting side so they dont cost as much and pickup the unlikely wicket and that worked like a beauty. Under pressure, Misbah chose the wrong shot and India won. Before that a couple of really poor overs from Harbhajan and Sreesanth showed what can happen when preasure builds up. So in the end, a great game of cricket, nice to see the subcontinent teams play the final and show the world that the reason why they are in the final is not a fluke it's because they play to WIN.

Lets forget this crap. Everyone who would have heard this would have felt sorry for Sohaib as we know he didn´t mean it. I guess Pakistan team and people had associated this with Ramzan as well as they had also won the world cup around this time.Anyone who prays and sacrifices wishes for return and here all the world is doing prayer. So I guess we wanted to say something related to that but messed up because of his poor English. I feel nothing but sorry for him as I couldn´t see any mischief on his part nor can I imagine this from Pakistan players. I am sure because religion is such an integral part of their life that say would say something related to it but we should understand their perspective. I guess Indians can better understand this than others who would have listened.....

As a Pakistani supporter, first I offer deep respect and congrats to a great Team India. What a great game of cricket!

If you know anything about Malik, you know that he is not a political or religious figure. We had one of those as a captain, Mr. Imran Khan the politician and Inzy the religious fanatic. I am very happy that Team Pakistan is not religious per se, just cricketers. That being said, I think he was trying to offer disappointment at not winning the match for billions of Muslims observing Ramadan. He was foolish. I as a Muslim was so happy that if not Pakistan then India won. He is learning, cut him some slack. And yes, no excuses, Pakistan is also learning to be a secular nation.

1.1 Billion people. 24 Years of dreams (From 1983 to 2007). No of overs may be the difference. But,spirit remains the same. Congratulations India. Well play Pakistan.

"First of all I want to say something over here. I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world."

Remove the phrase 'wherever muslim lives' and replace it with the word 'people' or 'pakistanis' and the statement makes perfect sence.

I am for giving him the benefit of the doubt. That said, I am glad someone brought it up. But I think enough has been said. Let it rest!

This is the month of Ramadaan, and the pakistani team came so close to a historic world cup! What Shoaib said, should be taken in the right context.

I must say that what impressed me almost as much as the match was the amazingly cordial relations between the two competing teams. Shoaib went out of his way to congratulate the Indian team and its fans. Afridi referring to "Bhaji bhai" and what not, what an amazing amount of respect they each showed the other? What a welcome world we live in, it was just a game and nothing more and nothing less. To those who have been watching cricket for over 20 years, you must be just as astonished as me at the friendship that exists between the two sides. It's a harbinger of good things, for certain.

Mr. Whoever who wrote this article,
You need to understand the tense atmosphere that Malik was in and million things that were going over his head. He is a great guy and one can see that in his manner of playing and the reason why he was choosen as the captain of the team.
Let me give you an idea... why don't you try to stand in his feet and then try to be interviewed. You will have slips of words as well which is okay, because we are all humans right? Now you need to think more about Cricket that was played and less about what the individual sportsman had to mention. Its upsetting for me to see you being a write on Cricinfo analyzing things in a very unprofessional manners.
Mr. Malik was just thanking all the supporters and trust me he isn't against people of different religions.

Listen - I am not trying to come in defense of Shoaib Malik to what he said. I am thinking it is more to do with his lack of English speaking skills. If he were to have responded to Shastri in Urudu, I doubt he would have said the same thing. Atleast, he was clearly in loss of words after the narrow defeat and that too to India in a WC Final. I really wished he had taken a moment to give the Indian team it's due credid !!

I tend to believe this is a slip of tongue. I once saw an interview Shoaib gave on some Dubai based TV station soom after he was appointed captain. The interviewer asked him several times about the controversy surrounding the Pakistani team then about public prayers and the religious aspects in the team under Inzamam. Shoaib refused to talk about it saying time and again that he did not wish to discuss religious issues. So, I would give him the benefit of the doubt and attribute his utterances to nervousness and disappointment.

His comment was inappropriate if taken literally but I believe he didn't mean it that way.

It was a good article till I got to the comment part. The author then embarks on a witch hunt!!!

Give the guy a break. Malik does not speak English well and the benefit of the doubt should go to him.

SHOAIB MALIK did make a mistake! however it was unintentional.... he should be allowed to speak in urdu and have a translator in order to avoid confusion in the future.
he meant no harm...he is a humble guy so there is no need to make this a big issue!
SUBJECT CLOSED!

Great article.Good observation Mr.Kesavan.Both of us are Indians.I am a Hindu and my friend a Muslim.We supported India throughout the match.Shoaib Malik's comments at the end of the match were in bad taste.Being captain of a national team you don't expect such comments based on religion.All of us praise Irfan Pathan,Zaheer Khan,Shoaib Akhtar for their cricketing skills and not because their religious affiliation to Islam.Sportsmen are meant to raise above religion,race,caste and creed and entertain people with their sporting abilities.

i dont understand that ppl without hearing the whole thing come up with stupid comments, what he sais was back home pakistan and muslims all around the world and he meant the he is sorry to all of them who prayed for his team and then he said "I PROMISE WE TRIED OUR BEST" before posting something please check your facts whoever u r i swear to god because of ppl like u things like these are blown out of proportion.

Nice column from Mukul. I did see Shoaib making this comment while watching the highlights. Though it definitely sounded bad, but maybe all he was trying to say was- first up, I'd like to thank all Pakistanis and our Muslim brethren across the world who support us.

It does not sound so bad now, does it? In fact, had he said it in his native Urdu/ Punjabi / Hindi, it might even have come across as endearing.

Different people have different deficiencies. How about Dhoni not even complimenting the wonderful performance of Pakistan with the ball, until he was goaded by Shastri. I wouldn't call him a gracious winner.

All in all, it was a cracker of a match with some fine performances from both the Indian and Pakistani camps.

The last thing I'd like to remind everyone is- cricket is a team sport, and more often than not, its the overall team's performance that wins them matches. One Misbah Ul Haq's gutsy and sterling performance with the bat does not a summer make(?). Aplogies about the twisted metaphor!

I hope people do not rip apart Misbah for the loss- all it takes is one unlucky ball to end a brilliant batsman's innings. Do some Indians still remember some of Tendulkar's glittering vintage innings in vain, just because he ran out of support at the other end? Misbah might just be a Tendulkar in the making, so let's appreciate him for what he did, not for what could have been.

HEY HEY HEY , STOP it yaall. Mr. Mukul I really think you dont have anything to do but to being so negative and idiotic. WHy dont you understand the guy (like me) cant speak Engish very much so why dont you cut him some slack. IS it really important that you pin point every thing. Now i understand Malik didnt speak for every Muslim in the world especially indian muslims, but i really dont think he really meant what he said and what your negative brain thought so knck it off and find some real job. Cuz i really think it was an honest mistake nothing else.

I am not exactly sure why is malik's statment even looked at in this way. Do you know what these guys say up there is not script? Sometime you just say things that sound right at the moment, not because you think you will judged on every word. Give the a guy a break.

Dear Mukul,

I too was stunned to hear Malik spew something so nonsensical, but I think one has got to give him the benefit of doubt. It is pretty obvious that ‘speaking good english’ is not Malik’s forte’ and his mind must have been numb from the defeat just moments ago. It also goes without saying that he needs no education on the diverse nature of Muslims around the world and their individual loyalties. Let’s not make a "mountain out of a mole" please!!! Let’s restrict our emotions to enjoying India’s success.

Regards

Arun
.

I thought the same for a second but I don't think that's the case. You have to keep in mind that someone who is NOT good at english finds it very hard to convey his message and that too in front of such a huge crowd and cameras. Knowing Malik personally, I dont think he will ever make such a stupid comment. I am sure you are looking to get some fame and you still have to earn a living but please keep in mind that you are almost doing the same.

I wouldnt give Shoaib Malik the benefit of doubt on this one. His comment was in very poor taste. I was almost hoping Irfan to say "Dude I am a Muslim and dont thank me 'coz I was not supporting you."

LEAVE SHAH RUKH ALONE!!! I LOVE HIM

Fantastic article. Its not every day that one latches on something special akin to this,Kudos Mukul Kesavan. It was pathethic for shoib Malik to lace religious overtones in his utterings after the match.Much better expected from an international captain of his standing. However high Joginder sharma might have gone in people's estimates due to his exploits against australia in the semi and pakistan i think luck a played huge in this. Ofcourse we cant but rejoice over the huge potential shown by the likes of Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa and company. Yuvraj has shown the world what stuff he is made of. For sure there will be tussle between Yuvraj and Dhoni over captaincy and the competition could prove robust for indian cricket. Signs for the same is already out in the open. Comebackmen Harbhajan and Irfan made it moments to cherish and rejoice over. Sehgwag could justificially feel he has done his chances no harm. One needs though to spare a thought for the sensational trio of indian cricket sachin/sourav and dravid However hard they tried they couldnt lay their hands on a world cup trophy which the likes of Rohit sharma and yusuf pathan can boast off. What a proud moment its for parents of Yusuf and Irfan..getting one son to play for india is a pet dream of most parents and having two lurks on fantasy. Keep it up India...we are proud of you....

Hopefully Shoaib will clarify what exactly he meant. I am surprised that someone as educated as Mukul is targeting a guy who can barely say sentence of English properly. Malik could have meant a host of things. According to you he deliberately singled out Muslim supporters and thanked them. Yet at the same time you say he is a great captain. So why would he say such a thing? Easy answer : ENGLISH CONFUSION. Please keep in mind Ramadan is going on and the team was wished a lot at masjids by muslims of all faiths. Next time I hope he speaks in urdu so that you MUKUL can clearly understand him.

After reading the article and the comments, I think it in the best interest of the game, the Pak captain should correct his statment and clear everyone's doubts. However, ICC should take care that the comments and opinions of the players should not mention or aim at any Religion, Race, Sex or Political interest.

Well Mr shoaib,My wife asked me about the statement you said .I told her that may be you're not comfortable expressing in english.
If you're not comfortable in expressing your opinions ,You can talk in Urdu or hindi but don't give false statements in english

I had posted the following comment in Kamran Abbasi's blog . From the other comments posted in Mr Abbasi's blog's I discovered that Mukul Keshavan has already put forth a similar point of view , albeit , harsher.

Both teams played well and India was deserving winners of the world cup. They won against Australia , England & South Africa and tied against Pakistan (I know the records show that India won , but really , it was a tie).Pakistan played brilliantly as well and Misbah-ul-Haq appears to be a player who has come to stay. The bane of the India & Pakistan sides , fielding , was conquered . Both teams fielded exceptionally well.
MALIK LED HIS SIDE FROM THE FRONT , BUT WHY WAS HE THANKING THE MUSLIMS AROUND THE WORLD!!!!! WHAT SORT OF COMMENT IS THAT!!!! MANY NON-MUSLIMS SUPPORT PAKISTAN AND DON'T THANK ME PLEASE BECAUSE NUMEROUS MUSLIMS LIKE ME SUPPORT INDIA.I AM SURE IRFAN PATHAN , YUSUF PATHAN , ZAHEER KHAN , MUNAF PATEL AND KAIF DO NOT SUPPORT PAKISTAN AS WELL .I KNOW HE WAS NOT SELECTED BUT WHAT ABOUT DANISH KANERIA .AND GEOFF LAWSON. PAKISTAN HAS PROVED ONCE AGIAN THAT THEY ARE THE MASTERS OF THE "FOOT IN MOUTH" DISEASE. THANK GOD DHONI DID NOT THANK ALL THE HINDUS AROUND THE WORLD.
I KNOW MALIK MADE THIS COMMENT WITH A GOOD HEART AND ALL INNOCENCE BUT IT HAS A POTENTIAL TO BE MISUNDERSTOOD. MANY OF OUR FELLOW NON-MUSLIM HUMAN BEINGS WILL DISLIKE A COMMENT LIKE THAT.

though what he said was politically incorrect..i dont think that he meant it the way you are interpreting it, Mukul..Shoaib is a nice guy..he deserves to be let off the hook this time..he should be very careful about choosing his words in the future though..my sympathies with Shoaib Malik..Well played, well tried.

Just imagine Aussies playing Pakistan and Ponting thanks christains all over the world...

Or England playing Windies and the English captain thanks white people all over the world!

Do you think they will have their jobs the nex day?

It may be just Shoaib's discomfort in English that showed up there but, even given the benefit of the doubt, he should still apologize for hurting the sentiments of all non-Muslim supporters of Pakistan and all Muslim supporters of other teams. AND next time, please keep religion out of cricket matters.

He's just a boy...........

He's just a boy...........

Hi Guys!

Chill out! Basically Shoaib was pointing towards the South African Muslims who had come out in large numbers to support Pakistan. He mistakenly mentioned the Muslims of the whole world.

But if this was not a mistake and was intentional, then he should be reprimanded for it and taken to task.

Dont care what Malik said. I just wanted that India has Won the cup in a Thrilling situation..thats it.. I will never ever forget this moment.. Imagine the happiness of 1Billion people in india and supporters all over the world... Go India...

at first sight Shoaib's comments seem insensitive, but I do think he needs a break. if we take too seriously the young man's one comment, in the heat of the moment, in front of the tv cameras etc, we do a disservice to him, to his team, and most of all to the cricket we all love equally.

initially even i was surprised to hear wot shoeb said but then we laughed it off as a slip of tongue or lack of command on the language.but mr.kesavan i was SHOCKED to see the reactions your article generated.i thnk u have done more damage than shoeb himself.I would have agreed with u completely if the comment shoeb made would have come from an experienced player.but shoeb definetely deserves benefit of doubt.Arent we spoiling the celebration of the great match we just witnessed?

Hey,
I might have sounded a bit mean in the last comment I send you, but realize that you are over analyzing a guy's comment in a negative way. Thanks for your understanding.

I am not surprised at all. For some people everything is related to religion and that's why we have this divided world.

Very well written article. I was shocked when I heard the comments from Malik. Its interesting to see that most other Pakistanis and Muslims in this forum also agree for the most part with Mukul. It was a very incorrect statement to make at such a global stage and I know many Muslims in India would have felt insulted.

Overall, a great game - one that will be remembered for years to come. Dhoni certainly has surprised everyone, but I don't think its time for him to take on the mantle of a test captain as well. The pressures of being an Indian captain will start telling as soon as we have a couple of poor series.

I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world.

So, these were his comments. There is nothing wrong in it. Do not be such narrow minded. After all we Indians are not narrow minded, or are we?

Dhoni has taken his challenges seriously and chosen risks to be a part of his game. but his risks were well counted and finally I ndia has become the world champions. So sorry Pakistan. Better Luck next time.

Why you ppl are so concerned about malik comments his english is not good and he is simply trying to thanks his nation and ppl who pray for pakistani team as this is our holly month of ramzan this is bad to highlight such issues . We never hightlight a issue when a Hindu Dr in caribean make the wrong report of Bob but i think indian try there best to make a issue of such things

Look at the kind of response an article like this can get...I would have thought the statement was inappropriate too but if you think about it, it looks like another work of "lost in translation"...probably what he ment was their supporters prayers. He is a young bloke although you see their photos and comments about them in papers and magazines their direct exposure to interviews is very limited...most of these guys have their most nervous moments on a ground when they are on stage to collect their man-of-the-match award etc....Anyways don't let this small mistake steal the truth of the moment "Inida is the first ICC world Twenty20 Champion"...Chak De India!!!

Guys n gals, these series of blogs is another definitive confirmation that we ALL LUVV a bit of juicy GOSS and pointos (pointing figures).
What % of this is about CRICKET and its heroes whom we should be praising and complimenting?

FORGIVE n FORGET those lesser mortals and I am sure we will all be GROWN UP and better off.

Let he who HASN'T SINNED continue to throw stones.

The writer has very easily turned this into a political statement and made it sound like Shoaib was being rude or something.
Firstly, I mus say it has hurt me that the writer even thought about something like this at such a good time cricket wise. I am a Pakistani and sad at the loss but this was great for the game.
Secondly, if he had done a little research then he would have known that Shoaib said this only because of the month of Ramadan. Because people specifically muslims were praying for the team in the HOLY month of RAMADAN, hence, he thanked them.
But the write very easily has turned this into a controversy. Shame, that he did not find anything good to write about the great event.

My first reaction when I heard Shoaib speak during the presentation ceremony was the same as Mukul's. But after some thought I'm pretty sure it was a case of poor english-speaking skills (speaking good english does not make cricketers better players in any way-they should speak in the language they are comfortable with). Perhaps Mukul jumped the gun a little bit here! Mukul it would be interesting to know if you have changed your opinion now.

Guys.... Please dont make big issue here, mukul i know u r right on your side but just leave him alone .... At 25 years of age and first time in International Cricket.... its easy to say about players that he should do this or not....anyways guys I am happy for india that we made it to moon this time... its feel greate.... but other side feels sorry for Pakis; only one poor shot by misbah destroyed the hope.

Leave Malik alone .... give him some time then he will give a good speech...As we know he made mistake then why we creating another mistake here with this conflicts...

CHAK DE INDIA...

You should also revolt agains the comment Adam Gilchrist made after India defeated Austaralia. He said - " There were some moments when India was better than us". What an arrogance - they need to be put to rest by cricket fans too that Australia was comprehesively beaten by India. He does not want to acknowledge that. I do know Australia is a good outfit but they have to lear to give credits where it is due.

You should also revolt agains the comment Adam Gilchrist made after India defeated Austaralia. He said - " There were some moments when India was better than us". What an arrogance - they need to be put to rest by cricket fans too that Australia was comprehesively beaten by India. He does not want to acknowledge that. I do know Australia is a good outfit but they have to learn to give credits where it is due.

A writer of fiction aptly twisting words to make an issue of nothing, glad you specialize in the foreign language you are taxing a non-specialist for. Thats why u are behind your word processor and Malik on the field ...

Mr. Mukul Don't spoil the fun we had watching both India nd Pakistan play. Like one of the readers said above, give the benefit of doubt. Besides, you DID NOT quote Shoaib word-for-word. He said "muslim leagues" not "muslims lives". They must have sent him good wishes for the final.
It is irresponsible bloggers and journalists that make the world a tougher place to live in.

By the way, I am an Indian and a hindu.

In the UK we have terrible problems understanding Indians in their call centres - they were the butt of many jokes a while back, but now its a fact of life. They often say the wrong thing - but any rational person in UK knows they do not mean ill by their comments - its not their first language and it happens. As an Indian, surely you can appreciate this of Malik MK? Shoaib is a decent guy, with no hidden agenda, imagine the other Shoaib had said this!!! Wake up and smell the roses - lets talk cricket.

India beat Pakistan, amazing final. Two fantastic young teams, great hosts in SA, great organisation by ICC, wonderful tournament and deserving winners. Slip of the proverbial by Malik, but then what did Dhoni say of his gracious opponents? Would you like to castigate him?

Yes its Ramadhan, come on, its a time for peace, which you would fully appreciate (Indian Indian's do, UK Indian's not so, sadly). Its not 1947 anymore, and we really need to move on.

Mr. Mukul, I strongly agree with you.

Hi first thing i would like to congratulate both teams on giving us the opportunity to witness one of the best finals in cricket. I also want to congratulate both teams on beating the arrogant aussies they deserved it i was glad when both did congrats to the sub continent on that. Speaking about religion i think religion and sport should not be put together.let religion be in places of worship,parliment houses in some countries.But please do not involve religion on the sporting arena cause it creates a lot of contreversies. Enough said well played both teams and congrats for kicking the kangaroos out and making the final an interesting one

i watched this game with 15-17 of my friends out of which 3 were Muslims and we were all rooting for India and were going crazy about the indian victory. And all of us were equally happy at Indian victory irrespective of our religion or race. And in the same way i feel every Indian Muslims supports and cheers for India and its never in doubt.
As for Shoaib i feel he wanted to thank all the Pakistanis over the world and must have erred because of his poor english and the circumstances then...so just give him benefit of doubt.

Given the topic, the rivalry, and the sensitivities that can arise from a continuing blog on this subject, what struck me the most is the civil nature of the posts. Thank you everybody. I am sure Shoiab meant no disrespct to anyone and was simply transliterating. Similarly I am sure that no one was particularly offended anywhere, although the comment as expressed must have raised eyebrows and caused natural uneasiness for those not used to faith based expressions as an integral part of their language. No one in a secular country need feel that they have to explain or clarify Shoaibs comments. And no one in a single-religion country should feel compelled to explain their faith based expressions either. Best it be debated fully and then let-go That is the best outcome.

'Mother of all Matches'

Loosely speaking this is an offensive term in Islamic terms, if you choose to look at the history on the origin of this phraseology.

Saddam used the phrase 'Mother of all Battles' - but you know I don't think I will start a campaign to ostracise you Mr Kesavan - clearly you are just plain ignorant.

Maybe a little more tolerance & understanding in future. Its a pity as your article had been excellent till then, but rather like Misbah's mis-scoop at the end - its what your writing will be remembered by, and that is a pity.

20/20 aside (and what an aside!) there are huge issues in cricket at the moment - why oh why are you trying to make another one?

Its quite apparent that most of you are really not true cricket fans- ""if you can""you figure out for yourself what I really wanted to write about you Malik Bashers. Shame on you.

i enjoyed watching the game very much and found it to be a really really close game... i even thought that pakistan played pretty well and attempted to win... but the comments at the end just ruined the whole game for me, what does being muslim have any thing to do with cricket??? or thanking just muslims people because i am sure that there would be lots of non muslim supporters as well for them.... i think its a shame it happened.

I am a Pakistani and thoroughly enjoyed the match. I wanted to see "Scenes from the Final" and instead I saw this horrible article in its place...I am sure Shoaib Malik did not mean what the author has suggusted.

Fundamental q #1: Why do people hate each other?! Live and let live in peace. Each has his faith and his path to heaven/God/afterlife or whatever!

Point #2: Shoaib is not comfortable with English, so I say give him the Benefit Of Doubt; and if he said what he said intentionally then he is making unnecessary, untrue and stupid statements which make him and his team look bad.

Overall, I like the article Mukul!

And I love the fact that Indians (me being one too) always root FOR Pakistan when they are against other teams. We don't hate on you so why don't you guys just return the favor!

~SlowMo

I was also surprised to hear what he said. After such an awesome game, he decided to ruin it all by talking about the muslims etc. Another I noticed was, he mentioned something along the lines of "we put in a 100%". To me this seems like he is justifying his loss, when in truth it was anyones game till misbah got out. The pakistani coach and staff definatly need to sit him down and tell him not say such stupid stuff or atleast give him some basic tips about talking during awards ceremonies.

Your controversial comments are egregious --- really! More offensive than what you think Malik has said out there in the middle. You are making these controversial comments after being aware of the bad-communication skills of paki captain… while he was just trying to thank the Pakistani watchers back in his home town. It’s really not necessary to write if you are out of topic… think before you blog!

Being a Sri Lankan with "Little Brother Syndrome" (against India), I whole-heartedly supported Pakistan in the final.

I felt lousy seeing Pakistan coming second but my sorrow short lived as I heard the comment of Shoaib. Now I believe that was the best outcome or otherwise it would have been a victory for all Muslims live all over the world and not the team I supported as the representative of Pakistan Cricket

Arent we like making such a big issue out of nothing. Shoaib might not have said the most intelligent thing, but as far as I can remember he just said "I would like to thank all the muslims of the world". Now is there anything wrong in saying that. Ideally he should have thanked all Pakistan fans of any religion that they may follow. He made a mistake, and we the upholders of righteousness are putting him up on a stake, come on guys, savour the victory instead!

Mukul, you seem to have an unerring instinct for seizing and belaboring the most insignificant of trivialities. Some might ascribe this trait to a quest for good, clean fun, but I submit that such views, when aired in a public forum such as this, can only foster division and invite prejudice. While I do not presume to understand the sentiment behind the obiter dicta, I would, in view of the obvious difficulty he experienced in stating his views in English, choose to give him the benefit of the doubt. Why? He has spoken publicly in the past (he won a number of citations for excellence on the field during our various tours of Pakistan over the past couple of years), and he never once aired islamic views of even a moderately rabid strain. On the contrary, Shoaib Malik has always struck me as a keen and talented cricketer, preoccupied solely with improving his trade.

Mate, seems like this one backfired and the jokes on you now. I am not sure if you will even post this but you bringing up this issue shows that you are bitter about the past rivalry, something that should have been put aside after an excellent display of cricket. Why dont you celebrate Indias victory instead of rubbing salt into the wounds of Pakistani's by critising their religion and their team (And yes your line stating "your country's cricket eleven bats for international Islam." is almost offensive to muslims ). I admit at first I thought that the comment was a bit out of line but I'd like to see you speak Mukul after you've lost a World Cup final by 5 runs against your arch rivals with millions watching back home. Cut Malik some slack and dont try to show your anti- Pakistan sentiment on a Cricket website

Leave him alone.Let him have fun and enjoy his game.

What's in your mind/ heart is what comes out of your tongue especially at tense circumstances such as the presentation awards.

Here, cricket is the religion. Everything else takes second place.

That it is.

Mukul, I would have loved if you explained why a statement such as made by Malik will be offensive to a proud Indian. Let me try my bit. The statement by Malik questions the very identity of an Indian. It is difficult to define what does an Indian identify himself or herself with because India is a vast country with different language, culture and religion. Most Indian love there country for this unique blend of languages, culture and religion. They are proud that they can not only co-exist peacefully with each other but also enjoy each other's success (I know this is not always how it is but this is what a proud Indian likes to think). When you question our ability to co-exist with each other or ability to share each others success and failures you question the very identity of an Indian and hence it is offensive.

Furthermore, as we all know, India and Pakistan were divided on the basis of answer to the question - whether Hindus and Muslims live together? I do not know what is the "correct" answer but what I know is that this, my friends, makes it much more offensive and arrogant coming from a Pakistani. It is as offensive as a Pakistani can get to an Indian.

I understand that Pakistani's are as patriotic as citizens of any other country. And they must also have some idea of Pakistani identity. If we can understand each other and respect each other's feeling we will give the next generation much better world then we live in.

I guess (and hope) Shoaib Malik was just ignorant or just plainly said something he didn't intend to say. However, it is important we as citizens of two countries discuss more about these uncomfortable issues (as oppose to what has been suggested by some people here). Just as a check, how many Indians know that a proud Pakistani will find it offensive if you suggest that India and Pakistan become one country.

Give me and all the cricket lovers all over the world a very big break Mr.Kesavan. I am an Indian and very ecstatic about India winning the finals. But you took away half of that pleasure by writing such an article. I live in US and sometimes people misinterpret and misunderstand what I say as I can not lay across what I really want to say as English is my third language. So, let's move on and cut some slack for the poor guy.

It was interesting reading all these comments...Few things worth noting:
1. Mukul's comment about "LOSER"...You are educated, qualified, have never represented India, or any other nation. So, use your words sensibly. If Shoaib is a loser, I'm not sure what I should call myself, or you.
2. Mukul's second comment, about two sons of Irfan's father in blue. I am proud of that.
3. Shakeel's comment----> You're spot on. Shoaib, like many other youngsters, has "usurped" that representation. I am glad "Muslims" like you have the guts to come out and say what you feel. Otherwise, these people will take over your identity.
4. I did not see the ceremony, but, if Dhoni did not congratulate the opposite team, it shows where he fell short.
5. That sad state, where a captain, has to use "religion" to avoid facing criticism at home, or in his fan base for losing to India, because, that's what I think it's all about...
6. Us cricket fans (not me, I have never burnt down anyone's house, but, some idiots have), for not understanding that the person playing is a human being, and, in a game, some win, some lose.
If they feel they are "failproof" how come they (irate fans) don't play for Pakistan?
7. As a Hindu, I know what Inzamam's opening statement was...Sab se pahle Allahtaala ka lakh lakh shukra...I never felt bad...That's a guy who scored 10000 runs...Religious...Good to be religious...But not stupid, like Shoaib...And I agree with Shakeel, because Shoaib knew what he was doing...

An awesome match! Spoilt by one really careless statement from the losing captain. I watched the match with a mixture of Indians, Pakistanis and other nationality friends. People from neutral countries(most who were non-muslims) were really let down by his statement and will think twice before rooting for them at the next screening...Bad english is really not an excuse, on the world stage you need to make correct statements because there are so many cultures watching you. Insist on speaking Hindi if your uncomfortable or take some language/PR classes.

Mukul, do not be surprised if you are held responsible for the next war between the two countries. :) BTW, leave Malik alone. He seems to be a very decent & humble person. He may not have meant to say what he said. Really likable lad and leads from the front and needless to say he was Bob woolmer's fav. character in the team.

Anyways congratulations to India and commiserate to Pakistan and Misbah, poor guy !

It's a shocker of a statement. But, nothing, when compared with the Dean Jones incident. Poor Shoib. I dont think he really meant what he said.Given his fluency in English and the fact that the presentation was right after a nerve wracking final, he can be given the benefit of the doubt. He must have meant to thank the Pakistanis around the world. However, he can learn from his mistake and be more careful next time around.

Being a true Indian fan...after hearing what he said I really dont think I was offended to what he said....I'm very well accquainted with him & his family back in Pakistan & I know for the fact that he did not intend to offend anyone.
Jai Hind!!

All,
I think it was a mistake because of his poor English , but at the same time he should be notified and he should make sure that he doesn't repeat that. Lets forgive him and not make a big issue.

I was appauled by the Pakistani captain's choice of words, or perhaps his ignorance. He certainly needs lessons on being progressive and a good role model. I have great respect for the rest of their players for their proffesionalism.

it was indeed a great final and something cricket has been missing for a while. Was really impressed by the way both India and Pakistan played in this tournament, new blood and new captaincy. Shoaib Malik's comments at the presentation was very shocking when he mentionned "muslims" round the world instead of "pakistani fans", i supported pakistan through the competition and was very dissapointed that he did not thank me as am not a muslim. He should in future be more careful with his approach as he might unconsciously trigger something that might end up very badly. Genuine mistake or not under pressure, we will never know. And very well done to India for their.

i was watching the game all the way...watching hindu supporters supporting pakistan in the crowd,muslims supporting Indians,Christians laughin and enjoyin the game...im an Indian Christian and support India,with Pakistan Christian friends who support Pakistan..when i heard malik say that a shiver ran down my spine..it was as if i was there in person and a huge HUSSSSHHHHH!!fell over the crowd...big mistake to say that.some people on this forum...thinking hez young...Dhoni had been given huge responsibility.Dhoni has only played 80 odd ODI's and 20 Tests whereas Malik has played over 140 ODI's..his maturity levels should be twice as much as Dhoni's. He knew what he was saying....

Congratulations India (Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Hindu's, Buddhists...all inclusive)! Commiserations Pakistan Excellent opponents, spirited effort...But alas a few wanton words in an ill-thought out speech that has no place in international sport from Malik appear to have soured an extrodinary spectacle. Malik should be ashamed on two counts 1. His misguided and wholly inappropraite comments and 2. his abject failure to congratulate a victorious India. Thank goodness that Afridi made good where Malik failed so miserably! Shame on you! Hope to see both teams in the next final!

Poor Malik. He was in great shock and did,nt realise what he was saying. I support Pakistan whenever they play gainst other teams. I was so thrilled when they defeated the Aussies in the Super 8 stage.

I was thinking the same way as Mukul said and i was happy that Irfan git the MOM award and Sharukh was cheering which project the secular nature of India.I was happy that Shahid Affridi also made a political statement of composure thanking India too and addressing Ravi Shasthri as "Ravi bhai".I have almost broken down...I love those moments when Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis consider themselves as brothers and stop spending on arms and use the money to educate kids(not in Madrassas or temples) and alleviate poverty...Hopefully we will get more Affridis than Maliks in the future

You people are such boy scout why taking this to heart. Shoaib said exactly the same thing he should have to say at that level, because u people dont know what were the feelngs of Pakistani people at the moment after struggling hard and then lost match, by saying these world Shoaib do a better thing because he was the ambassader of pakistan there not of the whole world.

We could give the benefit of doubt to Malik because of his lack of facility in the English language, but it was the sentiment behind that statement that caught some of us by surprise. It was a poorly thought-out line, made poorer by his choice of words that Mukul quoted in verbatim. Should it come as surprise that the Pakistani team has become more pious over the years, thanks to Saeed Anwar and Saqlain's persistence? After all was said and done, there was no hue and cry over Inzy's wont to begin his responses to the Match MC with "Bismillah....." How will we react if Dhoni were to begin his press conference by reciting the Gayatri Mantra? Or Ponting by quoting a passage from the New Testament? Religion does not really play a role in sport and we as an adoring public don't mind the crossing of one's self or looking up to the skies with closed eyee, gestures that are public displays but are also personal at the same time. In that sense, Malik's verbal statement which was a bolt from the blue, merited a response. I could not not react to it immediately, as soon as Shoab uttered those words that in turn became open to various interpretations.....

Mukul your line stating "your country's cricket eleven bats for international Islam" is as offensive as Shoaib's comment. Try not to include your anti- Pakitsan sentiments in this blog.
Secondly, I have read many times in the comments that India have more muslims than Pakistan, that is not true. people do some research before you post anything.
Zarrar, NY

I don't think Shoib Mallick was trying make any political statement at all. It was statement made out of lack of command over the language coupled with the cultural background he comes from. It's very usual for person who comes from Pakistan to mix Allah, Khuda, Islam, Moslem very frequently in their language. I think everybody should take this in right spirit and not make it political. Shoib Mallik is an awesome cricketer and let's not be so intolerant for a slip of language. By the way I am from India.

Give the guy a break dudes. you guys seem to be relishing more on the opportunity to lash out at shoaib, than enjoy a hard earned win.
As rameez raja correctly pointed out, the rivaly between the current teams is very healthy and there is no animosity or hatred that existed in the miandad era. shaoib said what he said,whether he meant or or not.. who cares. people who believe in freedom of speech and expression shouldnt complain, and people who do not have no right to criticize his comments and take a higher moral ground.. peace.

Time for Tendulkar/Dravid/Ganguly to immediatly retire from all forms limited over international cricket if the have an ounce of shame left in them. The trio have been playing for India for more than 15 years, besides individual records the best team India could achieve has few traingular series wins and a WC final spot. Greg Chappel was so right, the senior mafia has to be dismantled for the good of Indian cricket.

guys i m an indian and the comments by shoiab were definetely an insult to all of us. if it was a slip of tongue than pls correct it and think before u speak. and for god sake leave ur religion at home. we r more proud to be an indian and than a muslim. long live india and hey we r the champs so congratulations to all indians and all indian supporters

I agree with you sir partially. I don't think we can go to that deep to discuss this sencitive issue. As players are coming to the game very early they don't have more maturity and good basic English. Like others said if you didn't have that much fluency in the language then use the known language there is no shame in that. In any case player(whether its pathen/Malik) should avoid religious things which will spoil the game sprit. Hope ICC will wake up and create some code of conduct and the respective countries will educate they player to represent the country in international stage.

I agree with you sir partially. I don't think we can go to that deep to discuss this sencitive issue. As players are coming to the game very early they don't have more maturity and good basic English. Like others said if you didn't have that much fluency in the language then use the known language there is no shame in that. In any case player(whether its pathen/Malik) should avoid religious things which will spoil the game sprit. Hope ICC will wake up and create some code of conduct and the respective countries will educate they player to represent the country in international stage.

Mukul, I think your column, while eloquent, just looks to stir up controversy. I am Hindu and an Indian supporter for the record. So what if he thanks sll the muslims who supported his team, surely, there were non-Pakistani supporters of the Pakistani team, who overwhelming are Muslims. Why do you automatically assume that his statement suddenly questions the patriotism of Indian Muslims etc. It has nothing to do with it. Quite frankly, it is you who is over-reacting and imputing all sorts of motives. Lets remember its just a sport...its ok for Indian Muslims to support Pakistan TEAM in a match against India..just the same way that the Hindu asian in the UK turns out to support India in a match against England..it doesnt make either group unpatriotic.

What's wrong with you guys. I can understand the sentiment of Shoib on the heat of match. But Mukul, you should think twice and choose your word properly before writing such comments. I wonder what kind of pressure are you in to criticize so harshly (I am sure there are more constructive way to bring this issue). Definitely, the statement of Shoib is shocking. But it is more shocking to make a mess out of it by a reporter. You just prove what you love. Cricket remark or Crooked remark. Looks like reporter plays the cricket more than the batsman with their unthoughtful word. You just spoil a great feeling of having a great match played with great spirit between two great team. You deserve "spoil egg of the series" award.

guys whether hindus or muslims we all are have 2 eyes, 1 nose , 1 mouth and love cricket and shahrukh khan. being an indian obviously i feel elated, but the loss of not seeing shoaib akhtar in action cannot be compensated. shoaib bhai pleaz join bollywood and beat up gabbar singh, god promise everyone will love it

Maybe what Malik meant to say was "I want to thank every Muslim around the world who was praying for us in this holy month of Ramzan". This sounds a little less offensive than what he actually said. Now, replace the words "every muslim" with "everyone" and it sounds even less offensive, almost innocuous. Subsititue any other religious festival for Ramzan (Diwali, Christmas) and it still sounds just as innocuous and is the sort of thing any religious cricketer might say in a similar situation. If this was indeed Malik's intention, he might have thought it redundant to say the words Muslim and Ramzan in the same sentence. This coupled with his obvious discomfort speaking English, might have caused him to omit any reference to Ramzan without realising the consequences. On the other hand, there are reports that Malik is (or at least was) active in the proselytising outfit, the Tableeghi Jamaat. Perhaps, his intention was indeed to make it clear that he was acknowledging only the support of Muslims around the world and no one else. Only Malik can clear that up. Either way, I agree with the others on this board who say that subcontinental cricketers should be allowed to speak in their native tongues, instead of having to grapple with English. That way the full import of what they are saying will be clear, assuming there are competent interpreters. Incidentally, for me, the most embarassing speech by a Pakistani captain remains Imran Khan's self-centred babble after Pakistan's victory in the 1992 world cup, when he didn't even acknowledge his own team. Surely, the language wasn't a problem for the Oxford-educated Khan.

First of all, I respect the writer for sharing his views.

It seems the writer and everyone supporting him seem to be jealous of Shoaib as a captain as he led his team to a brilliant performance. Obviously, a sensible person would understand what he intended to say. We cant judge anyone's intentions ofcourse but we can interpret it in a positive way. From pak captain's accent we can judge that he is not fluent with english, but we can see he is improving with it(which is something positive). Also, when someone write something or say something or any word that comes out of his mouth that describes yourself. So be positive. Pak captain's seem to be positive, which is a good sign not this writer.

Infact what it seems from this article is that the writer wrote the article in peak of emotions. It's just a game, emotional one for fans ofcourse, but i feel we should set aside our emotions.

But we still have to respect an individual's beliefs no matter who is he/she and i still respect the writer for sharing his views. I hope my comment was read with good intentions and so i hope it brought out some good as my intentions were being good!

I am very surprised to see that how can CricInfo's website management allow this article to be posted. This article is senseless and it completely shows the narrow mindedness of the writer, Mukul. Everyone here knows that English is not Shoaib's mother tongue, and sometimes a person is not able to convey the right intended message. All you guys need to take a chill pill and I am sorry to say but this so-called writer, Mukul, has created a big deal out of nothing. Cricinfo needs to take notice of this.

malik received many e-mails,phone calls from around the world praying for his team to win in the holly month of ramadan thats all i dont think he meant anyone to hurt he is young and that is his first international assignment as a captain the writerof this colum stirr everything up

I think you are trying to make a big thing out of nothing. It is most likely a slip of the tongue. I am a Pakistani and know that English is not something which Pakistani players are known to understand well or speak fluently. I don't think you would realize it since English is the medium of education probably all over India and not in Pakistan. So you would usually see Indian players speaking more eloquently then their Pakistani counterparts.I would still give him the benefit of the doubt.

I See some responses, where they are supporting Shoaib's comments!!!... There is no margin for error or for poor English when he is talking to people of 12 Countries.

Leaving behind this petty stuff, India played a wonderful match with lot of character, just reflecting their Captain's. And 100% Cheering to Misbah - what a guy he is, he did something which is almost impossible for Australians, and that too with ease.

And I'm seeing India win 4 matches continuously after a long time. But it is not the old Indian team anymore...

what a great game excellent to see these to countrys fight back after world cup failures, and give malik a break i doubt he meant it like the way you have portrayed it

Leave it to an indian to take something and blow it out of context. (i'm sure they'll do the same with my comment) Its obvious his English is poor and just leave it at that. I'm sure if the Pakistani team has a PR rep will talk to him about making comments like these. Why can't you indians take this win and celebrate, why must you put the Pakistani team (its captain) further into the ground. Fall back and take it easy..

I also felt sad for the comments made by the young Pakisthani captain. Especially after the way they played in this tournement. This is very inconsequential in the bigger picture. And I would n't stretch it to this extent.

I had worked and interacted with few young professionals from Pakisthan living in the western world. Most of them are either from the rich or the powerful sections of the society in Pakisthan. They sound very confident from the outside. But once you get closer, you realise how insecure they all feel, especially in the present political environement. The profile of the young Indians are very different. The majority are from an ambitious middle class family back ground. What I am trying to say is, access to good education and opportunities in life are very limited to the ordinary citizens of Pakisthan.

Cricket is great sport. Its probably the only option for ordianry people of Pakisthan to come up the social ladder. No wonder you see the sheer raw class in their players.

Once again I feel that we should ignore the comments of this young captain of Pakisthan cricket team. I wish them good luck and hope they will come up with more exciting performances in future.

I thought about the same when I heard him saying this statement. He is making himself to look very bad in front of this whole cricket world. Remember I just said whole cricket world which includes everyone around this country with different religions & cultures. I believe cricket makes us to be unite than anything else as this is one of the games which is followed by so many people. I am sure that he mistakenly said this statement and he will recognize it and appologize for it...

MK is making a mountain out of nothing. I saw the presentation and was surprised at Shoaib's statment, but then it is easy to see that Shoaib is not fluent in English and it is very obvious that he is not a some religious 'scholar'/intellectual talking about muslim experience or any such thing. Get a life, you guys...

Muky - you are correct in pointing this out, Hey but I forgive the guy, I'm sure he got his words mixed up in that tense moment. It could happen to anyone, Shoaib is a likable character and I hope he keeps entertaining us with his positive cricket.

Great minds talk about Ideas. Average minds talk about incidents. Small minds talk about people !!!

Never has so much fiction been created out of an inocuous little phrase. Considering how cricket riles up the emotions in the subcontinent and topping that with the fact that his in-laws are there it is highly unlikely that Shoaib would maliciously make such a comment - unless he holds his mother-in-law in the same regard as Botham did his.

I'm sure it wasn't interpreted in a correct form by Malik. Religion shouldn't matter in any sport, Malik wouldn't have thought that his statement would have come up this much. We would surely hear from Malik soon as to what he meant. I'm sure it was not an intended statement to put down another religion, at least one wouldn't do that on a live game show. Language barrier could have been an issue and frustration/tension could have caused it more, surely it isn't easy to have a mutual conversation after loosing a thrilling game. I’m sure all of us would have let out a poor statement in one way or another in our day to day life. Comon people why bother bringing in MUSLIM/HINDU, INDIA/PAKISTAN issues in games??...Cricket must entertain people, not to fight over silly matters here. By all means, I’m neither Muslim / Hindu, I’m a fan of cricket and I love to see a game as a game, not a religious issue.

Stupid comments by malik.. He should regret 4 d comment..It shows lack of maturity at this level.. he is naive and learning but the issue should be taken to ICC..

I would like to give Malik the benefit of doubt. However, the powers that be at the helm of Pakistani cricket need to wean anyone donning national colors away from any religious utterances on the international stage. Religion is something very personal, and most of us would much rather prefer to not wear it on our sleeves. If poor command of the English language is a problem, nobody forced Malik to not speak in Urdu. But I have a suspicion even then he might've uttered something equally irresponsible. He better clarify what exactly he meant very soon or else he is certainly going to lose the support of this fan.

Well written. I thought India was playing against Pakistan, not Muslims!!

The writer of this coloumn couldnt find any fault in the Pakistani team so he decided to blame the pakistani captain for some thing totally irrelevant, some thing that could be forgiven, some thing that even danesh kaneria wouldnt have noticed. Indians and their biases....uhhhh, get a life and stop being a nuisance... Trust me it wont help, seems like u r a desperate writer, trying to get attention by hook or by crook... nice try and seems u have got mine... but in the most pathetic way imagined.. U r a disgrace to the writers community.

Word of relegion is unacceptable in sports.

I must say that being muslim we should have been understand his statment. He was thanking all muslims for their prayers thats it.. Cm'on guys dont make it an issue.

Thanks for being the one to come out and say it, Mukul.

Let me just say that being a die-hard Indian supporter, I have really enjoyed watching Pakistan play in this tournament. In fact, I was supporting Pakistan against every other team but India.

Unfortunately, that comment left a very sour taste in the mouth. It was so disappointing to hear a comment such as that from such a wonderful ambassador for the game and for Pakistan.

If it were a slip of the tongue, I hope he comes out to clarify what he said before it becomes a big issue. For the sake of peace in Pakistani cricket and its development, I think all cricket fans around the world would love for this potential controversy NOT to materialise.

guys, let us not make this as a controversy and enjoy the sweet victory of a dream final ! congrats team india, you have given us something to cherish for years to come... hope the team performs in the same way, not giving up & believing themselves in all situations, in future series...

talking about malik's "slip of toungue", the poor guy may have been worried about the backlashing once they land in pakistan !

Nothing wrong with it, if all Muslims are feeling sad for Pakistan's lose in final, but how Sohaib was so sure about it?

Look at the large number of people commenting on something which was not meant but said in wrong words. It is more shameful that our Indian fellows always try to find something dirty when it comes to Pakistan. You won, your luck, enjoy the victory, why are you trying to spoil your moment of joy.
The writer has not done justice to his profession by bringing up such unpleasant thing which not many noticed until he brought it to writing. I would suggest CricInfo should show some sens of responsibility and avoid printing such stuff which may lead to controversies. I hope it is not a Indian website.

Is the statement offensive ? Yes
Did he mean it ? May be.
Is it surprising that he said it ? Nope. Pakistan over the recent years has a history of mixing religion with politics.
I wish he had n't said it.

after reading all coments i feel people are divided in two group but if you hindu or muslim respect your religion do not make big isuue of it. he should not bring ant religion in game. but always believe forgive and foegett.

hey guys! give him a break! He is just emotional and doesn't know what he is talking! Don't you ever experienced his emotion and spoke nonsense? I think he should be left alone!

That was really sick observation. I was truely happy today that two indian cricketing giants fought each other in a mega event. I being a Pakistani was happy for once that trophy is going to go "home". i was never such depressed as i used to get before. i was even thrilled after the finish. i was happy for Yovraj and RP and Dhoni. This showed us cricket the way we play. ideal. awesome. But your... observation just killed it man. really! ...you picked up one sentance of off Shoaib and bullied him all through. This IS month of Ramadan. Our players played most part of the tournament without drinking one sip of water. Yes, now you would say personal choice but you appreciation of others belief didn't let you think the moment he was in. Ofcourse he was reffering to muslims in general sence. he could have chosen word pakistanis but honestly you know and i know their wasn't any need for him to pick and choose what he should and shouldn't say. People in India must have been praying for Irfan and Co. People like you cause hate among others by bring up such petty points. What did you gain. People yelling and screaming for no good. Cricket won today. Subcontinent won today. But bigots like you lost.

I think this bad English was the culprit and Iam sure, he dint mean what he said.

Don't get me wrong, I am not an ardent fan of Pakistan or his team members, but lest not forget his poor English. He couldn't frame one sentence right yesterday but we are making a monster out of nothing.

Very well put Mukul. I myself was looking at drafting something, but looked at your stuff and said, okay I could not have put it better. What he said was absurbd and ridiculous and there cannot be any doubt about that.

Surprisingly observed that some people have commented that he might have not meant it but came that way. I think thats nonsense. He said exactly what his sentiments were. He might have put it in a nicer way if his command over the language was better, but the point is he would have meant the same.
Inzi, for all his religious start to his speech and all, never would have said something on those lines. Go ahead and thank Allah, but not assume that Pak is fighting for Muslims all over the world.
Malik should come out and apologize for what he said, can lie that he did not mean it, that would be fine and should be done. He has not helped the cause of the Muslims and considering that this is not a football match where at least 5 billion would be watching, I think he is lucky to have goofed up in a smaller forum.
Khuda Hafiz, Jai Hind

I think Shoaib did not mean it. But, a clarification from him will clear everything.

To all those people who say Mukul is making a mountain out of a mole hill .. how many of you actually heard the words first hand and your first thought is .. what the hell is he talking about ? Or may be its just me.

Was a bit taken aback as it was not in the best taste, but I give him the benefit of the doubt here. Big big game, overwhelming occasion, language issues- come on let's not shred the young captain to pieces. 3 cheers to both the teams for the unparalleled entertainment on the pitch.

i went to bed after the prize distribution ceremony but could not sleep till midnight since i was very much disturbed by his comments.now after reading all the responses and your article i feel the matter has been dealt at length from every point and let us drop this topic once for all in the interest of the game.

I am Proud Indian & Proud Muslim & Proud Indian Cricket fan -- I agree with the article , I did hear him say that and i felt awkward - however i was too involved and hyped about India winning the match -- way to go INDIA !! CHAK DE INDIIIIA !!

----- I hope ignorant Shoaib Malik reads all the comments and my message for him is : SPEAK FOR YOUR... SELF - don't imply that all muslims pull for Pakistan ...

What a fantastic contest it was! Both teams bettered their previous bests ever!

What a fantastic bowling effort from Pakistan (especially Gul and Arafat, with their shrewd captain Malik) and what a fantastic all round effort from India (fielding, catching, running BTW, all but few bowlers, captaincy). Misbah ALMOST finished the job for Pakistan. But all marks to Dhoni for never giving in, ever, and to RPS, Irfan, Rohit and that little man Gambhir!! for setting up and defending an impossible target by constantly taking wickets.

It is just unfortunate that Malik made such a comment! But hopefully he will learn from experience to think before saying anything henceforth (also, to think the right things). However, even though it would have been diplomatic to leave it untouched, really, this article did me (and my friends) a great favor by talking about Malik's comment. Malik's unexpected comment left a bitter taste in the mouth at the end, especially after such fantastic gamesmanship in the final and throughout the tournament from the Pakistani team. This article is more Dhoni-like than Dravid-like. For, Diplomacy is about saying what you want to in an “appropriate way” and not about “not saying it at all”. Thanks for “saying” it Mukul, for the benefit of the billions of “Cricket Lovers Around The World”.

"We the people of India constitute unto ourselves a sovereign democratic secular republic"

That's why our 'man of the match' can say 'Mashallah" - that's why our CRAZY young bowler can cross himself before he bowls, that's why we have a captain from Ranchi, batters from Bombay, Coorg, and sikhs ...This is a GAME!! That's all!!! Was a FANTASTIC game today, can we not celebrate what UNITES us????

-- I am proud Indian , Muslim and Huge fan of indian cricket

------- I hope Ignorant Shoaib Malik reads my comments -- my message to him " SPEAK FOR YOUR OWN D*MN SELF - dont' ever question my partiotism or commitment to my BELOVED COUNTRY , India "

what does he know , there are MORE MUSLIMS PRAYING FOR INDIAN TEAM than muslim in the whole world for Pakistan !! do remember mr. Malik

CHAK DE , CHAK DE INDIA !!

I think Amer Ranjha said it best. People (Pakistani Muslim's iam guessing because it happens to be the dominant religeon in Pakistan... i know, shocking isn't it) prayed for him and he thanked them. So what? Y'all need to go and grab a beer or something. (Unless you're muslim;))

It's happened to me before too. I was at Band Camp and it happened to be a Christian camp. They prayed and then one said " father, bless the Christians of this world" I sure as hell didn't take offence. It was a bit awkward as i was the only muslim but it didn't matter to me. Now those guys could speak english pretty damn well.

I was following the final on CricInfo, and was immensely happy about India winning. The moment I saw Shoaib's comments I said to myself, "Wow, what is he thinking? Is he thinking that all the Muslims in India were cheering for Pakistan? Is he thinking that Pakistan has some kind of sole right to represent Muslims in the world?" This is a kind of mentality I have observed in a few Pakistanis I had come across over the years. They act like they are torch-bearer of Islam.
By the way, I am a Muslim and I am not from India.

Hi, I have just logged into cricinfo and read the comments posted by the fans and i totally agree. I had watched the match and i heard Shoaib Malik thanking the muslim fans around the world. Is he trying to say only muslims support Pakistan? There are more muslims in India than in Pakitan and im sure they would support India. Hopefully Shoaib said that accidently and what he ment to say was that he would like to than his fans around the world. Next time i hope religion doesnt get involved in cricket or any sports

Shoaib is out of the world at that moment and I can realize his emotions and he struggles for the words to put.. might be he thinks now what he said...

let CricInfo/media ask malik further on this..lets see if he accepts as mistake or he defends

There are a lot of people who find nothing wrong with what Shoaib Malik said, and want MK to stick to cricket. They are better off telling the same thing to the person they are defending.

Slip of tongue or not, comfort with English or not, its about a mindset of equating cricket teams and their supporters with religion. And this was not one-off as before the match as well he had made reference to Pakistan winning 'coz it was the month od Ramzan. If anyone would/should have benefited from almighty's grace due to it being a sacred month then it ought to have been two individuals who hrew up inside the compund of a mosque and whose father was a muezzin - Irfan and Yousuf Pathan - at least the empirical evidence proves so!

Great Match! Nearly gave me a heart attack, but as usual somebody would have and go and put his foot in his mouth. But Malik and the Pakistanis are anyday better than the aussies, who are the most arrogant bunch of them all.Remember they pushed Sharad Pawar offthe stage and then asked why a big eal was being made out of it!

I have three observations to make. (1) Yes, Dhoni is carefree, gives the impression of wearing the job lightly and seems to regard it, correctly, as nothing more than a game. I think a number of past Indian skippers were the same way too when they were his age and still relatively new. Its the incredible pressure of living upto the exaggerated expectations of one of the most hysterical and insecure bunch of fans and media anywhere in the world that reduces our skippers to the nervous wrecks they become. Let Dhoni enjoy his moment in the sun as a captain - the system will inevitably reduce him to what his predecessors became. (2) Shoaib Malik seems like a decent fellow who hasn't had the "advantage" of a convent school education - that and the fact that he was in front of a microphone beaming out to the entire cricketing world minutes after a nerve-wracking match that his team lost, might have much to do with what he said in his broken English. At least, I think, he was sincere about whom he thanked. If he is under the mistaken impression that Muslims everywhere in the world were behind Pakistan, maybe over time and with greater exposure to the rest of the world, he will know better.(3) I am beginning to suspect that Wisden pays its bloggers by the amount of mail their missives generate. If my suspicion is right, MK7 must be the wealthiest of Wisden's bloggers.

To start it off, I would like to congratulate the Indian Team. They were definately the better team on the day.

Following Mr. Malik's comments...
Poorly reflected, mr.writer. What a dismal piece of article to follow what we all can label as a "MEMORABLE MATCH".

Public Speaking, I believe you would be aware of the effort needed to actually learn this bit of the English Language, let aside the language as a whole. Perhaps, you do not know of the fact that Mr. Malik is actively involved in English Language Training courses, which definately are not the pre-requisites of the Team Captain position.

Captains are chosed on their ability to lead, decision-making, communication skills(between the team), and on their overall cricketing abilities. If you look closely, no country advertises the captain position, for the players with well spoken english. And if you go back in the not too later a past, Mr. Malik was appointed the Pakistan Team Captain after the WorldCup, which would be around April-May(around that time). I'm sure he would be more busy in polishing his leadership abilities than actually concentrating on learning english language.

However, what is disappointing at this stage, is the expectations that the millions and millions of people, as some of us here call it, have from the english speaking abilities of a captain who is first chosen for his cricketing skills, and not for his control over the english language.

My point here is, what Mr. Malik meant was "PAKISTANIS all over the world". It was no doubt a slip of the tongue. He was caught translating his feelings from Urdu to English. But here, you do have to put into consideration the events he had just passed through.

1) 1st Major Tournament as Captain
2) Lost to Arch-Rivals India
3) Lost to Rivals India, that too in a WorldCup Final.
4) Lost by a mere 5 runs.
5) His lack of experience in controlling emotions in such an electrifying atmosphere.

Any sensible person reading these reasons, would surely understand the effects that could have followed. Perhaps, Mr. Mukul here had already had his mind set up. Or perhaps, this could be just another shoot as a RESUME BOOSTER, as one of our friend mentioned earlier.

It is with great displeasure that I state that Mr.Mukul has been completely ignorant of all these circumstances...Sad, very sad indeed.

Once again, congratulations to India. And best of luck to Pakistan for the future.

One more thing which I noticed about the post match interview with ravi shastri of both captains. There is no doubt that both the team played some good cricket in this tournament but Shoiab malik didnt appreciate a single Indian performance of the tournament when Dhoni openly appreciated Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi's bowling performance in the interview.

I also listened to the comments and they were what Mukul mentions and i agree they did sounds offensive specially for indian muslims and the ones i know were 100% behins India, though i think what Shoaib meant was may be Pakistani(like myself) and some Middle eastern Muslims(some may be in UAE and stuff) around the world who were praying for Pakistan during the month of Ramdan.
Either way if Shoaib clarifies his comments that would be great.
All Congrats to India for winning the tournament.
I think this is the best thing that has happened to the sub-continent cricket in quite a long time.
Let's remember this as a great en-counter where the best team won and let's pray for a lot more of them :)

When Shoaib made that comment, I was surprised that Ravi Shastri did not catch on to that and confronted him then and there !!
If this was a slip of tounge then I hope to see an apology from Shoaib in some format !!

Since their existence, most of the Muslims have been loyal to their homeland, be it battlefields or any sports. Cricket is no exception to this, where they play for England, India, Srilanka and Pakistan. They are representing their country and are proud to do so. When Shoaib quoted this, may be he was nervous, may be he was upset, or may be (though highly unlikely) he was unaware about this fact; but the bottomline is that this time he is incorrect.

Shoaib's comment was surely unfortunate, but then he dint mean it. The problem is with English. He wanted to say Pakistani's around the world but came up with something else. I think most of us would have made such a mistake if asked to speak in german after attending a few spoken german classes. Malik is a cricketer unfortunately not a so well educated cricketer, please dont treat him as an extremist. Oh! by the way I am an Indian and non-muslim.
Cheers

Well done india. Now 4 the australian tour whom they will replace for the oldies. let the oldies stay in bench give chance for the young bloods.Keep it up india.

it will be an endless debate where all the pakistanis will think indians are making a big deal out of nothing at all and all the indians will think their reaction is justified. but come to think of it, how many times you guys have spoken in front of the world media and 30,000 crowd? its easier said than done. imran khan at the end of worldcup 1992 only spoke about his cancer hospital... you dont realize what you're saying and its hardly deliberate.

Any kind of sports is above religion or caste or colour. A representative, like Shoaib, inciting such a reaction from people all over the country has obviously done something wrong.
I was shocked to hear that statement and I knew that this statement is going to get censured.
As far his personal sentiments goes, losing a close match, his statement was not religious at all but sentimental.
But I dont think it was a stage or time to show your sentiments when every word of your weighs.
Anyways, All U Indian supporters..Lets bask in the glory of India's momentous victory over all intimidating opponents..
Cheers!!

We must not forget that it is the holy month for the muslims and Shoaib knew that his muslim supporters all over the world would have prayed for the success of his team. So I dont think there is too big an issue if he thanked them for that...

Continued from my previous post ….. On the other hand, it is well and truly acceptable that the whole episode was purely due to the non-fluency in English of the Pakistani team, most of who are new to speaking English, especially on stage! Given that, I think that this article should be looked purely as one that serves to recommend the allowing of players to speak their languages of comfort.

Finally, on Mukuls language itself! It seems no less discreditable / despicable than Malik’s. At least he can be excused for lack of vocabulary and for stage-stutters; but Mukul’s sounds more like a heated retaliation, rather than a friendly/well-thought pointer. So, Mukul, thank you for “saying” it. But please “Practice What You Preach” for saying it the WAY you said it!!

No doubts Dhoni showed his character on and off the field. This match is an memorable one for all the cricket fans from sub-continent. It has been a nail-biting world cup final between the two countries where cricket is a religion. We couldn't have asked for anything better.
It is good that you mentioned about Shoaib's, as this was the only low point in the match.

I think every once in a while Mukul tries to stir up some controversy to try and get some attention for his blog. You have the benefit of analyzing and dissecting Shoaib's comments from the comfort of your desk while he had to form an answer in a split second, in a language he isnt really comfortable with. Please get a life...

Well Mukul, though I liked your style of writing, I was thoroughly disappointed from the way you made an issue out of Milk’s comments.

When someone is interviewed LIVE, one should always expect a slip of tongue or two from the interviewee. And if interviewee is not proficient in English, and his team has just lost the world cup final, and that too with an extremely narrow margin, then there is every reason to give a benefit of doubt to him. But the way you have tried to politicize this issue has really hurt me.

I had been a fan of Indian cricket team (except for its matches against Pakistan) for quite some time. But the way your article has introduced this issue, and other Indians have tried adding fuel to fire, it hasn’t strengthened my impression about India (and its residents).

Your team has won the first 20-20 world cup in history and that too with a convincing performance. Instead of lauding your team’s triumph you rather have opted to set your focus on a dubious comment of Malik just to make Pakistan look bad. If such is the mentality of the people of this region, we can expect bitter ties between the 2 nations for another 60 years.

I am very glad to see the balanced comments made to this post by Hindus, Muslims, Indians and Pakistanis alike. In the past, this forum may well have become a ground for hate and anger. It gives me a lot of hope for the future that we can discuss such issues maturely. Amazing game, best of luck for the future to both teams. What I enjoyed most was that both of us defeated Australia....

Hello to all who support what Shoaib Malik said. Slip of tongue??? BS. That statement was well thought before the Pakistani Captain came to the podium. He interrupted Ravi Shastri & said "before you start I would like to say something here". I have never seen any old Pakistani Team belonging to Akram or Imran Khan bring Cast & Religion in the game...

Mr Kesavan - I daresay that you have singularly achieved in sparking (a pretty useless) debate on which country has the most number of Muslims. Let us give Shoaib the benefit of the doubt. It was his first exporsure at the world stage and hope he learns from this. If it has hurt the sentiments of Non Pakistani muslims around the world including Indian Muslims - I can see why but just let it be. Shoaib seems to be a genuine cricketer and a simple person and maybe this was a slip of tounge. Let us not make political capital out of this.

This was a terrific match between two countries where cricket is (and I hope remains) the true passion and religion.

Look, you've completely misconstrued the whole issue. Shoaib's just started learning english and every time he goes up to speak he can never really express himself properly. He just lets out many words that are related and does not think too critically. There is no doubt of the strong connection between the words pakistan and muslim; he would not have been implying all muslims in the world because there are 1.6 billion with quite different identities. He's not an idiot and he did not conspire to say or imply something like this premeditatively. He simply steriotyped due to a mixture of linguistical and momentary factors; which any of us could have done. Let's not turn him into an evil person; he just simply steriotyped and made a mistake with his choice of words due to his inability to communicate properly. Nothing more and nothing less. All that can be concluded is that he needs some practise in the area of public speaking in english. I also noticed this mistake by Malik at the ceremony but registered it only for what it was; a mistake and one of many in his words. Don't turn this into such a dramatic issue Mr. Kesavan. If we started analysing words in such detail outside of politics this world would become an ever more unfriendly place.

I thought Shoaib wasn't such a type of a person till actually I heard him say it ! It was really uncalled for to mix cricket with religion....

And a word for Indian fans and the media too ..... Don't get too carried away and hype it too much. Lets see everything in the right perspective. India won, good .... Dhoni handled them well, good ! But please dont praise either Dhoni or the team a little too much and then later abuse them wen they lose. Even Dhoni seems to be getting a little bit carried away since the last 3 matches, atleast the way he was responding to questions made you believe so ( Thought he was handling it better in the first few matches ) but the media and public are partly to be blamed for that. So, just a word of caution ... nothing else.

Congratlations to Team India. A deserved victory !

yes i agree with writer. It was a shocker to hear such meaningless words told by the pakistani captain.Being a fan follower of pakistan Im very dejected by such remarks.Shame on you ,shoaib .Its only on field behaviour ,you should also be sensible when you sepak to media.

I must say that when I first heard it I was stunned. What he said was so ridiculous that I'd have expected some commentators to speak up and lambast him for it. Glad to see that you did so Mukul. I hail from Baroda in India - and was thrilled to bits to see 2 Baroda players, both Muslim, both players I'd seen when I used to go watch Ranji games at the IPCL ground, represent India. And to think that the captain of Pakistan's cricket team, no less, utters such rubbish about his team representing all Muslims of the world! India's glorious secular tradition has seen it being represented by people of all religions and it would serve Pakistan well to realise that religion and sport don't mix. Questioning the patriotism of Indian muslims on the podium is the mark of a very immature or fanatically religiously inclined person.

How come a team's captain can make such a comment with emphasize in such a major sport event! Shame on Shoaib Malik. I won't say shame on Pakistani team because I am yet to be sure it was the voice of the Pakistani team (although they have the responsiblity for their skipper saying something like this). How dare he? I am a Muslim and I have been supporting my Bangladesh. After Bangladesh was out in 2ndd round my support was for India and Pakistan because they are my beighbouring country. When it was India-Pakistan encounter I choose India. Now as I am Muslim, does Shoaib thanked me considering I was supporting him? I was not and many other like me was not. How come religion comes here in a sport so dominantly?...

I am an Indian muslim, who is simply infuriated by the comment made by the Pakistani Captain. Me and my family were watching the game with our hearts in our hand, praying for our countrys victory and we just couldnt contain our happiness when India won. And then we have Shoaib Malik making this statement of thanking every muslim for praying for his team!!! How dare he think every muslim was praying for him and his team!!! I guess it is high time he gets some general knowledge on the sentiments of Indian muslim. I was pacified only when Irfan Pathan came up to get his Man of the Match award... I guess atleast then shoaib malik would have understood his blunder!!!

It was shocking to hear a comment like this from the Pak Skipper. He needs to understand that a captain's responsibility includes being an ambassador of his country (not being fluent in english is no excuse for this). He left a very poor impression of the secular maturity of his country. Muslims in India are proud patriotic citizens & don't root for Pakistan!!

common yaar, its a game of cricket, Don,t try to spoil the world society by saying Muslims, Islam, etc publicly.

Poor Shoaib!! He said what he was prompted to say by politically insecure politicians. Pakistan cricket has been patronised by politicians in high places throughout and poor captains have no option. Remember Mushtaque Mohammad in eightys thanking all Muslims for winning the test series against India ? My heart goes out to shoaib for all the bashing he is getting for what he was ordered to say !!

please do not try to make a moutain out of a mole,you do hav2 understand that its not easy to speak especially after losing the match, and commenting first time as a captain.i do not think he was trying to promote his religion, he is only thanking all the people who were fasting and praying for the success of the team, can't he even thank his people when they could do so much for the team. Its easy to sit and give your comments, if you are called on the stage to speak, your tongue will dry and your body will shake and you will thank your parents instead of your organizer, and if somebody says do not thank your parents how would you take that.

Please keep religion out of cricket....why everything starts and ends in religion....
cricket is religion in itself....who needs other...

Please do not let Shoaib's comments spoil the great memories of this ICC 20/20 World Series.
His lack of experience and command of the English
language probably accounted for this unfortunate
glitch. Hats of to both India and Pakistan for their great perfomances.

The fact is that Mukul is a writer and maybe that's what he does for a living. So I should congratulate Mukul for writing such a dramatic piece. Then I thought of the spectacle a witnessed in the form of T20 in the last month and I am really happy to say that I enjoyed every bit of the time and money spent on this tournament ($ 49.99 for the package in Canada). I felt that most of the matches were entertaining and India are the deserved winners. I saw the amazing talents of some wonderful playes in world cricket ( sanath, yuvraj, gul, afridi, vettori, hayden, gayle, aftab, ashraf, ablei, misbah...to name a few) and I am glad that I witnessed the wonderful sport. I feel that India are deserved winners as they played better when it matters. The statement Shoiab made is entirely his decision and he has all the right to express the way he wish. Maybe he didnt mean to say it exactly the same. But it doesnt really matter as he had lead his team wonderfully and was the worthy second best team and NOT "losers". Although it does ignite the INDIAN feeling initially, I feel if you think properly, this aritcle doesnt let you ENJOY the winning moment. Cricinfo shoudnt allow such writers to post their silly views. I am a proud Indian!!!

Mukul, it was a fantastic final and we should be proud that Pakistan and India locked horns to determine the winner.Let us face it the game could have gone either way.Tere is no loser or winner here.I eould say both excelled in the game as some ahve to win others ahev to lose.So be it.Please do not exploit on the remarks made by Shoaib. He has a right to his opinion.I am sure he was not refering to the Muslim world per se. He was directing his comments to the Muslims of Pakistan origin and why not too.For the sake of good Indo-Pakistan relations please let the matter rest.Dhoni and his boys have shown class and I hope the selectors will not sacrifice to accomodate the "have beens" in the coming ODIs as this will be demoralising to the youngsters.

Mukul Kesavan, instead of appreciating the Indian team and writing about them, you find fault with others and make some article. Did somebody ask you to write a negative article, so that people will be forced to beleive all crap, whats going on right now is not enough???

What an important point tracked by this article.
It seems shoaib is following the same path of previous captain.In play all we seek fun, excitement and at the end friendship. But saying such statements divert public mind and attitude.
Hoping he may not make such statement again....

I think you should stop writing blogs. People will stop visiting cricinfo if people like you write blogs. Thank you.

I think he was a gracious loser. He was appreciative of all the great players either from India or Pakistan. I think the guy was lost in translation so lets just leave it at that.

Shoiab has made himself look naive by uttering what he uttered. I was almost startled by his statement. Cricket is played to entertain cricket enthusiaist. It cuts across religion, caste color,race etc. Pakistan is a responsible cricketing nation. Its captain should refrain from saying such words. There are honorable Muslims all over the cricketing fraternity supporting their respective national teams.If anybody glances at the team compositions of various nations one will certainly find excellent Muslim players playing for Non Muslim nations. Shoaib needs to respect these players and show maturity. He has undone all his goodwill by this incident. However, we need to treat this as an one-off aberratin and look forward by being large hearted about it.

Well, to all those who feel it was a slip of the tongue,I am sorry it was not. I believe he wanted to mean every word of what he said. In fact he began his speech with these exact words.As a speaker myself,everyone knows that the opening lines are planned and come from your heart. It was unfortunate to have heard such comments. This problem of religion is sport should be rid off. Thanks Mukul for these words.
Also Shoaib coming under the purview of Geoff Lawson, should understand and realise his fallacy and make amends for it. I am looking out towards a changed Pakistan team in the coming years. The one akin to Imran Khans World Cup winning team. The one that does not point fingers or use religion to gain mileage. And the one that is known more for batting, bowling and fielding in all forms of this game.

I think what he was trying to say was:
"First of all I want to say something over here. I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the PAKISTANIS lives all over the world.".... but for sure he has a very poor english.... messed up everything...

& Dhoni & other players did congratulate each other....May be the people who didn't saw it were busy shouting & dancing :-)

I m a person who had never liked Pak team, whenever they have any match with any team I always wanted that team to win but this is the first time that apart from India Pakistan match, I was supporting Pakistani team in this whole tournament. When pakistan beated Australia I was so happy and praising them to all my friends and colleagues. So when I heard those words from Mr Malik for a few second I was surprised and didnt like it but soon within second it skipped from my mind as I have heard nothing. ofcourse the comment was not good but a wrong word can come out of anybodies mouth and because of that we cannot side line all the effort done by the whole pakistan team. Like Indian team they come out from no where and reached the final. Above Someone written that he will not support pakistan team anymore but I will definately support them except in India Pakistan match :).
Well now come to the topic actually after reading this article and all the posts, I think we should not take this topic any further, yes it was a mistake done by Malik but highlighting it only make things worse. In the end I like to tell you that we people are neither politicians nor commercial media who pick these kind of comments to make their vote bank or TRP.
And how can I forget to congratulate Indian Team... cheers for India hip hip hurray..

It was a good match. One had to win. Match was turned when imran nazir got run out and then in one over Shoaib Malik and Afridi got out. Misbah Played good but he did not manage in last over and came under pressure. However we shoudl appreciate pakistan team. Younis Khan also did not deserve place in 20/20 team.

Paki players are known to bring religion into sport and though I never heard Shoaib talk I felt he was educated. He did invoke God after the toss and to me thanking Muslims all over the world was intentional aimed at escaping the wrath of the Paki mob on losing to their arch rivals.....this apart I did enjoy the game...at one point I felt they were cruising at 53/2 but ...who else can be so unpredictable but Pakis..Well done Mahi and his bunch of young fighters...I hope we retain this team for the ODI series against Oz.

It was a good match. One had to win. Match was turned when imran nazir got run out and then in one over Shoaib Malik and Afridi got out. Misbah Played good but he did not manage in last over and came under pressure. However we shoudl appreciate pakistan team. Younis Khan also did not deserve place in 20/20 team.

Completely agree with the article.The matches are between nations and not between religions.I feel very strongly about these in appropriate(and irrelevant as it was not part of the question asked by Ravi)comments.We as cricket fans support nations,good cricket and good players and not religions.

Mpeople have attributed Shoaib's comments to his lack of English. I don't think that at such a global forum, there is a place for thoughtless comments. He had himself stopped Ravi Shastri from speaking....saying something like "before I say anything else, I would like to thank the people of pakistan & muslims all over the world...". A statement like this is not acceptabel! Ya sure, it may be a slip of the tongue, but as a captain/sportsperson, you can't make such a mistake!! I agree 100% with the writer of this article. I was quite disgusted when I heard those comments from Shoaib. Hopefully, he gets the message & thinks before he speaks the next time. Also, if language is a limitation, then he can surely respond in Urdu and no one is going to think lesser of him for doing so.

I woke my neighbours yelling NOOOO this morning. Misbah what were you thinking? That shot was a shocker but I can't complain, the rest of your innings/tournament was fantastic.

Thanks India and thanks Pakistan, that was a fabulous game to watch.

It's a shame Mukul, you have to ruin it with your inflammatory and misguided rant.

Malik took me back to Lahore 1978 when Mushtaq Mohammed thanked his Muslim Brothers all over the world for their support in defeating India in the 2nd Test. Time stands still in Pakistan

Well done India and Pakistan to make it to the T20 finals. Congratulations to India on winning it. The entire article gave a balanced input for the thought process of every cricket loving fan. Being a cricketer myself, I know how jubilant the Indians would have felt and how painful it is for the Pakistani team to take such a defeat. We have to take a closer look at the entire situation. It was a post match conference and Malik when he appeared for it was on top of a tin roof. Because a captain has to cop it for the entire team. I can understand the moment when he uttered the words which has created a lot of criticism. For a non-Islamic Pakistani supporter, this would have been very hard to digest. It's a pinch of separation when he/she is going through the mood of their team's loss. But we have to realise that if he had to revisit and make his statements, he wouldn't be making a similar comment. Because only he knows that he has erred on a very sensitive matter. Regardless of any religious background, players play for their country and supporters barrack their team. Though he might have said this in the heat of the moment, cricketers or any person on a global stage should realise...Is religion (path of belief) such a major part in sports (path of spirit)? And I believe sports is a phenomenon where a human being raises above his/her rivals on the basis of skill, endurance and passion. Religion which is created by human beings might have flaws which are different topic of interest. But sports is a soul affair where the gallantry involved is a spiritual affair...Realise it and relish it.

I think Shoaib is a great cricketer and not the most fluent speaker in English. Anyways, that doesnt excuse his remarks at such a big stage with a world audience. Shoaib should realize that with his position as the Pakistani captain, come responsibilities like being politicaly correct. Whats stopping him from using an interpreter to express himself correctly and fluently in Urdu? In fact, he should be proud to do so.
It was such a good game of cricket. Great cameos from players on both sides, Umar Gul, Gambhir, Misbah and Pathan. Wish I had switched off the telly before the presentation. Its usually such a bad PR exercise. It really left me with a bad taste in the mouth when Shoaib said what he did. I hope he didnt mean what he said, but that does not justify his comment. An apology and a clarification should be a good move.
Mukul, nice article and a brave one. Even more so, since this is never an easy issue to grapple with and its so easy to be misunderstood. Still, gotta do what you gotta do.
Btw, I just finished reading 'Looking through Glass'. Loved it!

I read several comments supporting Malik's statement laying the blame on his lack of English - well, my friends, we have had several Pakistani players in the past and even Bangladeshi players, talking in their native toungue when they could not express their feeling properly. Malik could have as well done that and not made a blunder to give out such a nonsense statement. Syntax & grammar errors aside, his English put forth this view clearly - so let us not blame English at this stage. Players, expecially captains should be given proper training on public speaking before they start making statements creating controversies! On should understand that the world we live in today has already enough problems dealing with religious fanatics and we do not need sportsmen to give them further reasons to ptray their fanatism! Stick to sports and please keep religion out! Everyone knows that this is the holy month for prayers - so what is that got to do with sports now? Does it mean that any match played on Christmad would be in favor of Christians or a match played on Diwali be a hindu-supported match! Come on guys - play and talk sports as a sportsman!!! Be graceful in victory and defeat equally!

PEOPLE ITS RAMZAN IN THE MUSLIM FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

what shoaib malik said is equivalent to matty hayden saying merry christmas! ramzan is a holy month for muslims, and shoaib just wanted to thank them for their prayers!

U may have larger number of muslims in pakistan Naveed Akhtar bhai..but we have ppl like Anis and Ali Rizvi who wud anyday root for India...Its not about religiuos faith rather support and cheering for their motherland...And as a citizens of India we take extreme pride in having brothers like them..Cheers Bro...

Mukul, it's a perfect example of trying to create a controversy out of nothing and thus spoil a memorable final. Do you think Shoaib is not aware that there are Muslims in India and there are Muslim players in the Indian team? Do you think that he was trying to imply that Indian Muslims (including players in the Indian team) support Pakistan team? If not, why using the term ALL Muslims is anything more than a slip of tongue? Shoaib was trying to categorize Pakistani team supporters outside Pakistan and he used the term ALL Muslims. BTW Indian Muslims are in fact sometimes accused of supporting Pakistan in India Pakistan matches. And also it is fairly safe to assume that majority of the non Indian Muslim cricket fans support Pakistan. So why are trying to create a mountain out of a mole?

I think its taken out of context. Shoaib made a comment before the match about Ramadan and prayers. This was a followup for that. The only mistake was not to thank all other supporters of Pakistan team and fans of cricket.

The writer is so good at manipulating the audiences.

1) He should know that Shoaib doesn't speaks english.
2) Cultural differences in transfering the language from Urdu to English.

Now since you knew that much about Danish Kaneria. How possibly! You cannot figure out that Shoaib doesn't speaks english!

Hence you see the results in the nervousness, of answering a totally different questions!

well written article. more or less what a lot of people were thinking.

the comments from mailk were disspointing, coming from the national team captain. for his own sake, and the sake of the team, i hope he realizes the mistake in this attitude.

altough it was a rather exciting game and a fitting finale to the tournment. I'm happy India won and even more pleased about this entire world cup having so many well contested matches.

The general view seems to be that Shoaib is ... just poor at spoken english. ...Mr Malik does not appear to be driven by motives that lead to division of the world of cricket along religious lines. Moreover his captaincy in the tournament proves that his intelligence is definitely beyond question. Thus it is unlikely that he truly believed "muslims all over the world" were rooting for his team.
However, I fail to understand why Paskistani as well as Indian players feel compelled to speak in a foreign tongue they are not always comfortable in? With Ravi Shastri being the master of ceremonies it would have being simple to translate whatever was being said in either Urdu or Hindi.

Hopefully he didn't meant to say this . He is probably not fluent in english,probably was nerous a little bit too . Nevertheless they should understand it is wise to keep sport and religion separate. I am an indian Hindu and as a cricket lover i admire the talents of some of the Pakistani players. This is an insult to people who love the sport. Its a sport let it remain just a sport.

Well lets just hope that Shoaib did not mean what he said and all is fair. Cricket was the winner here and both the teams deserve a lot of credit for the way they performed. I have never seen India and Pakistan play the way they did...Amazing cricket all around. I loved the way the Indians celebrated with Bhangra music playing in the background. It was great to see the team spirit and to see them enjoying themselves. The celebrations were just awesome to watch and Yuvraj, Sree, Harbhajan and Uthappa did an impromptu dance which thrilled me to bits.

Guys give him a break, I am an Indian Muslim and I rooted for India all the way, I am sure he meant pakistanise all over the world. Damn we make something out of nothing.....

Well I think that we should not create any issue about Malik's comment. He was at the loosing end and what he said was obviously by mistake, he didn't mean that for sure.He is a new captain and was bit nervous at that time and rather than criticizing his communication skills we should focus on the fact that he took the pakistan team upto this stage out of nowhere. There is no point of talking about this comment when we have so much to talk about. In the end it was a great match and full credit to Misbah for bringing his team so close to the Cup. But we can't take anything away from the young Indian team who showed to the world that there is more to the Indian Cricket then just TRIO of Dada,tendulkar and dravid

These pakistanis never growup..all who are saying that, this is toungue slip are fools...they want to divide INDIA on the basis of religion. pakis suck to the core.

I feel the ICC should step in and have a code of conduct on these issues. Its ridicules that a captain of a team comes and says his prayers before saying a few stupid words that hurts the entire nation. The ICC should say that its cricket that you have played please stick to cricket and leave the bloody muslims alone, enough of trouble we have in the world with stupid people like these cause riots on religion and kill innocent people. Its time that ICC puts their foot down and say no more religion in cricket do what you want in your dressing room before you come out and face the public. This is a mockery of religion, like the saying goes leave religion & politics alone simply play cricket. Cricket is a universal game for every one to enjoy with idiotic captains like Malik and Inz they will turn cricket to war. Malik and Inz have created a hate red towards Pakistan for all non muslims and will never support Pakistan.

I have to respond to Jerry's comments re Mukul's article.

Like Jerry, Mukul is also entitled for his views and observations. In fact, I was also originally offended by Pak Captain's remarks. But being a decent human being I certainly believe that he was being thankful to his muslim supporters especially the Pakistanis, for their prayers, which is quite understandable. We should also give him (Shoaib) benefit of doubt for his apparent deficiency in English language.

This , however, does not forbid Mr. Mukul to express his thoughts as he did in CRICINFO. But for Jerry to say that CRICINFO should not allow this article to be published in the WEBSIDE is totally ridiculous. Mukul wrote what he felt was an obvious shotcoming in Shoaib's speech.

In my opinion, Shoaib should issue a statement to explain as to what he meant in this context to defuse the issue.

I am sure, everybody would accept his justification with an open mind, as his contovrsal comments were made in an emotional state.

Mr Kesavan ,
Wheres the benefit of doubt here ?
You have taken the words of a man obviously not comfortable in English and put your own spin to it. The only person who knows what he meant would have been Shoaib himself. Stick to cricket.

A Proud Indian.

What a great game! all the more sweeter as India won, heheh! So many young (and not so young) players for both India and Pakistan rising to the occasion. Gambhir and Rohit have grown into real players and Irfan is back in his groove again, this time in the company of his bro! Yuvi has been unbelievable. For Pakistan, glad to see a much improved Umar and why did they hide Misbah all these years? Reminds me of Australia not using Hussey for so long.Afridi seems to have missed out on the fun with the bat compared to others, I think he should be batting up in the order in T20.
As for the writers take on Shoaib's comments, I think it's unwarranted. I too was a little taken aback by his comments but we should give the benefit of doubt to the poor guy who is under tremendous pressure and coming from the the worst moments of his life to face millions of people on tv. He seems to be a nice and calm guy who always gives his best on the field. let's forgive his slip up and applaud his efforts as a player and as a captain.
It's very refreshing to see Dhoni's approach to captaincy. We'll have to wait and see how long this can continue. Once he starts losing, the same carefree attitude will get cruelly criticized. But for now, let's enjoy the great games that this tournament has given us.

Mukul, why do you want to raise inconsequential issues. Sure, he may have said something wrongly, but let's focus on the cricket. This is irresponsible and sensationist journalism, the kind of which spoils the relationship between our country and Pakistan. Pakistan cricketers respect Indian cricketers and vice versa. They even address Ravi Shastri as Ravi Bhai and Gavaskar as Sunil Bhai. Stop creating issues in the name of religion. I am an Indian Hindu and as much as I support my own team, I am proud of this Pakistani team for their self-belief and effort.

I agree with you that Dhoni is a cool headed captain India has seen in a while. Having said that, this is also a raw but talented, fearless, young, no-legacy Indian team in a long time. It is important to nurture and develop this talent to win higher laurels for India.

At this point, it is also important to remember that the game could have easily have gone Pakistan's way with one shot. While that would have been disappointing as an Indian, it certainly would not have diminished the flair and enthusiasm this team played throughout the tournament. We, as Indian fans, have often seen the reverse happen - the mighty, star-studded Indian teams of the past unable to deliver when it mattered critically and smashing the dreams of a billion Indians. Let us hope the tide has now changed with this new-look team and the powers that matter gives this team an extended run.

As for Shaoib's comment, let us hope it a slip of the tongue and give him the benefit of doubt in what he said. After all, his mind would have been pressured by the loss of a match that he would have thought was already theirs with just a 6 needed from an inexperienced bowler off 4 balls.

the problem is that the media forces english on all the players....so many times u have heard pak. players sound stupid on camera...its not their fault though....why not let them talk in a language they are comfortable with..let someone translate..thats the norm in other premier sporting events...olympics, football....for some reason cricket has this obsession with english..probably cos the englishmen spread it around....

I do hope Malik's comments were due to poor word choice resulting from his lack of English skills, but even as Pakistani muslim I must say his comments were well-intentioned but horribly expressed. I hope he realizes his mistake and apologizes.

May be that was a statement to prevent himself and his team being hurt as they go back to Pak. We have seen in the past this team being dealt with indifferently. I would rather say that this comes out of insecurity and nervousness (on stage).

I am appauled by the statement made by Malik. It is one thing to apologize to Pakistan for the defeat at the hands of Indians, but it is a completely out of line to say that he is sorry for all muslims around the world who were rooting for Pakistan to win against India. What is not important is that Pakistan was playing against India. It could have been any other team in the final. How can he make a general statement and assume that all muslims around the world support Pakistan?

Well written article Mukul!!! I look forward to your response. Also, I don't think Malik needs to apologize, ask why? If he is a mature adult and a professional cricketer, he will realize his mistake and correct his language in the future.

I am sure he did not mean to say what he said. I think what he meant to say was that he was thankful for all the Pakistanis living in Pakistan or abroad for supporting his team. Having said this, I do agree that he should be more careful in choosing the right words from next time onwards.

Apart from this, I believe all of us have had a chance of witnessing one hell of a final which has become a rarity these days. Cheers for both teams for making it such a special event.

I guess we should just not aggravate this issue, It was a mere slip of tongue from Shohaib. I don't think he meant to hurt a religious sentiment.

I totally agree with that religion should not be brought into cricket.But I would still give benefit of doubt to Shoaib Malik he probably wanted to thank pakistani muslims all over the world who were praying for him during this month of Ramadan. He was confused and does not have the language ability to say exactly what he meant.However if he made a genuine mistke, I am quite sure he is mature enough to grow out of it.
I dont think it is fair on our part to judge him as a captain and overlook all his potential just becasue of this comment.

They say that religion and politics should be kept separate. Religion and cricket should certainly be kept cricket. Games like cricket are all that keeps a crazy world clinging to the edge of reason (except when you have unbearably close matches!).

Bang on again Mukul again!
Captaincy has chosen Dhoni rather than the other way around.This man backs himself and his team; can take risks,calculated one though and test captaincy is his destiny now.
Coming to Shoaib Malik's comments,yes they were irrelevant...

Dear Mukul, and everyone else who has read and commented. Firstly congrats to India, they were the superior team not just in the final but throughout as wins over South Africa, Pakistan, Australia and England proved. Well done to their players and captain for playin breath taking and exhilirating cricket that even this die hard pakistani had to get up and applaud (no easy feat trust me!) well done for being passionate, even if a little too much in sreeshanth but hey he loves his country and is only being himself, good on him. And well done for not giving up in the final when maybe all us Pakistanis felt that we could give it a go, well done to RP, Irfan and the lot.
Now to your last point my friend. Shoaib did infact utter those very words. But it was a slip of the tongue. No one in their right mind would think that the World's muslims root only for Pakistan as the ones in India most definetely dont! Also quite a lot of the muslim world doesnt even watch our game. Its Ramzan, a holy month and our captain (who is no bigot, just like the majority of Pakisanis) probably wanted to thank the Pakistanis around the world and ended up saying muslims. English is not his first language and he made a mistake. Please dont take away from India's glory by focusing on an issue that is a relative non issue to all involved. This is not about terrorism, religious intolerance and Indo-Pak problems. This is about the fact that we, together, gave the world a final to behold and that the better team on the day and the best team in the tournament won. Pakistan played her part but in the end it is India who will stand tall and we should all salute her achievements and await our chance!

Nice article, but in slightly bad taste !
Yes, shoaib malik did say those words that uve quoted in ur article above, but Im pretty sure he actually meant to thank the pakistani fans all over the world and not jst the muslim community. I mean we all know he's not so fluent with english, and when people talk in smthing they are not comfortable with, they tend to sometimes not get the correct words out ! and this is exactly wat happened with him. Lets just enjoy the match, the spectacle and the result (:D) and leave the religious sentiments aside.

Mukul, the guy is just in his early 20s, captaining pakistan and lost to above all india in a v v close world cup final encounter.. He fumbled with his words, with time he will learn. I think we should give shoaib little leniency we dont need to be so hard on him yet!

It is very sad that Malik who is married to an indian muslim girl from Hyderabad (AP) decided to display his ignorance and utter lack of diplomacy at that moment.
I'm glad you have pointed it out. Vert often we shy away from denigrating such comments but I'#m glad you have done so.

Sports and religion should be apart... As such, I dont agree with sportsmen extolling their religious beliefs when they win.... We've all seen what Hansie was really all about...so none of his christian propaganda really came from the heart.
A secure person would never have to advertise his affiliations...

I too do think it was a slip of the tongue and he only wanted to thank Pakistanis all over the world. He does not look the kind of person who would single out Muslims for supporting Pakistan. He is clearly not at ease speaking English, it happens.

Which brings us back to a Q you had raised earlier: Why don't they answer interviews in their mother tongue? Ravi Shastri could easily have interviewed him in Hindustani and translated it to others. No problem.

I am a Pakistani Muslim, and i was also shocked to hear this from him. It was not to right such things. I am 100 % sure he didnt mean it. I think it was really the disappointment in the end. There wasnt enough senior players who can motivate them for such a good performance. This game could go also other way. Its really not an issue to discuss here. But as we all know its a habit of all indian writers to attack the other countries. They dont understand the situation and take normally the words. He told also that RP Singh and Irfan Pathan bowled very good. I dont think he wanted to attack someone with his comments. He has to avoid such mad comments

a 20 yr old guy capataining his country in the biggest match of his life and he loses n fumbles with his words....seriouslu cut him some slack ...trust you to spoil a wonderful ocassion and taking the talk away from cricket !!!

When I heard Shoaib say those words, my first impression was, why did he, he was articulate enough to crack a joke about shifting down gears from T20 to Test cricket and why would he utter such a statement. Then I realized that actually Shoaib was quite tact. I felt, by saying so, he exonerated himself from getting lynched back home. Knowing the subcontinent cricket craziness, where it matters not how well you led the side but the mere thought that you lost to India twice, he had to appeal himself religiously. I think inspite of being a captain he had himself vindicated. On hindsight reading about the effigies of Younis and poor Afridi burnt, for a captain, Shoaib did extremely well.

It wwas just a slip of tongue. His english is bad and he is struggling with his english still. He just wanted to thank all the pakistani supporters and by mistake said muslims. Just dont blow this all out of proportion.

And he is not married to any indian muslim girl - this has been confirmed. He did not mean to hurt anyones feeling. he just thanked them but got the words wrong !

Come on guys, do not overreact to the words of shoaib to that extent.

I am a die hard Indian Supporter. At the outset when I watched him speaking at the final ceremony, indeed I was shocked when I heard those words coming out from his mouth and became very furious. Susequently, I thought that he would have really not meant muslims but Pakistanis living in the world, who has prayed for them.

So, why can't he be pardoned, perhaps for his slip of tongue and usesage of wrong word at a wrong time. He is a young budding captain and will soon correct his mistakes learn how to talk and what to talk. Some times it can happen to any one who is not used and conditioned in public speaking (especially for non english speaking) in english, in fornt of such a huge crowd / cameras etc., when his morale & motivational levels are low due to the defeat

Mr Kesavan article is good but I would appreciate if he doesn't blow up such things, which will have a cascading effects on the feelings of Indians - pakistanis and Indo-pak relationship.

indian team is good form and good captan

what a totally irresponisble blog. please give malik a break. we're not all pseudo-intellectuals like the writer of this blog: malik is a young, simple man with a good cricket brain and who doesn't think in english (unlike many indians). the guy just said something in the heat of the moment in his non-native language - he didn't mean to cause offence to the hundreds of indians who are hurling abuse at him now.
in previous games malik has said "thanks to pakistanis around the world" - this time it just came out wrongly. or maybe malik has received many prayers during ramadan from friends around the world, i don't know. either way you're making way to big a deal about this, and encouraging pakistani bashing and religion bashing. let's focus on the cricket: it's a shame you couldn't do that. india and pakistan played a brilliant game of cricket in the right spirit that will live long in the memory.
yours,
cb fry

Please don't make it a big issue. Shohaib Malik is a decent guy and internaly he might have never meant it hurt anyone. I doubt that he was stressing Holy Month of Ramadhan in his previous conversations. So u know in this Holy month every Muslim brothers will pray for each others success. Shoaib should be more careful while talking. Hez a polite chap. Further, at a tensed time v may not think wat v r really speaking about. SO FORGIVE HIM. However, Shohaib must be more careful while passing such comments. Please don't make it a serious issue. Let us all (Hindus, Muslims, Christians, or whoever) be united and look for the welfare of the game. Gud Luck guys. Keep the spirit. Avoid any communal clashes. Luv Raghav

Shoiabs comments shocked me-I had been watching cricket all my life and over the past 5 or 6 years I can see the distinct change in the attitudes of Pakistani team.Previously there was never such an overt display of religion but now it is common for them to bring religion in every press conference.Bob Woolmer was convinced that Pak team were more keen to practice their religion than cricket and that probably led to their decline as a team.

-He's not a linguist like you Mr. Kesavan. If he was as good with mincing words as you are, he'd have been writing controversial articles for cricinfo to make a living instead of leading an international team a shot away from the world cup glory.

-Most Pakistanis are not good at English because in Pakistan, nobody's forced to learn English or any other foreign language. We take pride in our language.

-I'm sure he meant to say he wanted to thank Pakistanis all over the world and wanted to mention he appreciates how most Pakistanis (who happen to be muslim) are praying for the team during the fasting month of Ramadan, just like when Pak won World cup 92. And face it, its Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Most Pakistanis will never even meet a non muslim in their lives so to expect some to sound as diversified as others is unpractical.

-Having said that, in my opinion no religion has anything to do with...anything. Let alone cricket. He must not make a fool out of himself like Inzi.

-They should either have an interpretor for Pakistanis or PCB should educate atleast the captain on how to communicate in English without being vilified. They're after all ambassadors for the country and the game.

-Congratulations to our cousins who we rooted for everytime they weren't facing us. Best of luck for the SA series and may the Subcontinent's reign in cricket prevail.

Well, its true that the statement when said sounded wrong, but i think the intention was to tell that all the supporters of pakistan and since majority of pakistanis being muslim, he adressed it my mistake as muslims. Or else he must have felt that only muslims support pakistanis other than any one else. It's his thinking but his language ditched him

well there is nothing for india to show off about, they only won by 5 runs and pakistan was not exactly thrashed were they and i believe pak deserved to win, and all those people saying there are more muslims in india than pakistan they are wrong they have all of their information wrong, i live in the u.k and i am shocked about the way people from india are making silly remarks, when they should be happy and celebrating that india won well it is nothing big it is only a game, so why show off because they are insecure thats why they show off, i am a muslim and dont forget that the india teams got muslim players too. also what shoiab malik said he said it ti those muslims who were praying for pakistan and i am a muslim and i was praying so what shoaib said there is nothing wrong about that. so leave shoaib alone and stop making illiterate remarks and all of those who were supporting india go home and celebrate instead of comint on the net and criticizing shoaib! you people have no good education that is why you do not understand what shoaib said. so stop being illiterate if you have a problem with what i have to say just mail me!

I think we should not exploit this..... its just a speech after tense moments of cricket.... I'm 100 percent sure that he did not say that to hurt anyonez feelings.... Give him a break....And u making an article out of it is immoral ... just don't exploit the matter... We should not think so negatively... Atleast Shahid Afridi Congratulated the Indian team... But noone from the Indian team congratulated Pakistan on reaching the Final and becomming Runners Up for the 20/20 world cup... Its a shame when people take a word out of someonez interview and create so much fuss about it...

Some people seem to be batting for Mali, saying he meant Pakistanis & not Muslims. Even if that were to be correct, I guess he still got it completely wrong.

True sports fans support individuals & teams regardless of their country of origin, colour & religion. We were admiring the way Gul bowled yorker after yorker. There are countless Hindu supporters for Pakistan & Muslim supporters for India and both teams have supporters world-over who are neither Hindu nor Muslim.

For God's sake, let's not bring religion into sport.

The Indian team has a true universal look with players from diverse religions, states etc., with the game spirit being the only uniting factor.

I am sure that what shoab has said has the approval of majority of the fans in pakistan itself.But I personally feel that he did not really mean it though he should have been more careful as he is representing a country where non muslims are also present.It hurts them more than others as they would have cheered for the team .Let us not make a big issue out of it & PCB would be definitely advising him to be careful in future.There is nothing wrong in communicating in a language he is comfortable with so that communication gaps could be avoided.LET US ENJOY THE POSITIVE SIDE OF THIS WC WHERE BOTH INDIA & PAKISTAN HUMBLED GREAT TEAMS ESP.AUSTRALIA & REACHED THE FINALS.MISBAH & YUVI'S SIXES,UMARGUL &RPSINGH'S BOWLING ,DHONI &MALIK'S CAPTAINCY-EVERY THING WAS WONDERFUL.

Shoaib is right. Like Durban hindus supported India, the same way he thought muslims all over the world did the same for Pakistan. He is very much right.

shoiab's comment in fact stained an otherwise flawless tournament for Pakistan.

THANK GOD - AND ENGLAND - FOR CRICKET!!!!!!!
From one of Indian origin.

I think just like state and religion needs to be seperated for obvious reasons, sport and religion needs to be separated for obvious reasons. Sport is a tribute to the human spirit irrespective of the religious leanings of the individual. A person's religious beliefs may give him strength and hope to achieve what he does, but it is not the reason he will succeed in his endeavour. I sincerely think Shoaib Malik may have said those words inadvertantly and therefore I will give him the benefit of doubt. But during the match, I did not look at Umar gul's searing yorkers as those bowled by a muslim, but those bowled by a master of quick bowling...i did not look at gambhir's cultured slogs to six as attempts from a hindu..but as a batsman desperate to give his bowlers a decent chance to win the game...sports is given to its own religious beliefs and some of the posters that you see in matches "If cricket is a religion...tendulkar is my god" are apt testimony to the fact that in sport the only winners are the sportspersons and the people who root them on to greater glory...

I think sir, you are overreacting. Sorry. You see, I am a neutral. (South African) Not Indian, Not Pakistani. Not Muslim, not part of Christendom. BUT, I watched all the games...and for each and every game I chose a team to support. Except the final. Now, I believe that Malik was so caught up in the moment that what he really meant to say was completely misconstrued. Seeing as English is sort of my third language too, I know how that can happen.

As far as the captains congratulating one another are concerned, I want to correct one of the posters here. Malik DID congratulate India ...It was Dhoni who made no reference at all to the Paksitani's. I was a bit dissapointed with that.

I completely agree with Mukul.I was dumbstruck when I heard the utterance on TV.I guess Shoaib is on the learning curve and as he goes along this fine young captain will realise that as an ambassador for Pakistan cricket what he says and how he says it matters a lot.Should Mukul have spelt it in black and white.Absolutely.Like Dhoni,one expects that Shoaib too reads cricinfo.And to make sure he does read this one,Mukul could ask his fellow blogger Kamaran to pass a copy to his country's captain.If what I have seen on the field of Shoaib Malik is any indication, he will quickly assimilate this lesson.

It was a great match and the World cup a success.Hats off to both teams .India held their nerve and won a thriller.I fully agree with Mukul Kesevan.It was boorish on part of Pakistan captain to comment that " he would like to thank all Muslims around the world".But India has Pathan brothers and their family should be supporting pakistan as per Malik's comments which is in bad taste.Danish Kaneria is a hindu and by the same notion his family should be supporting India.Please take religion out of cricket.

All that said and a spoilt sport for not congratulating India on a terrific win? Show some Class shoaib, Afridi could?

I think Shoaib wanted to thank Muslims for praying in the Holy Month of Ramzan . He was quite confused and dejected.

I appreciate and Congrats Indians by Winning the Cup and I am impressed with fighting instinct of Misbah - Unfortunately he couldnt cross the finishing line but it was great.

Great match :)
Regarding the Shoaib remark, I think it has little to do with his proficiency(lack of) in English.
We in India are accustomed to the idea of a secular state where religion and the state are distinct. However, a person who has been brought up in a theocratic state may struggle to make the distinction and hence the mistake. The western ideal of an irreligious state is not easily comprehended by millions around the world.

I am 100% sure that Shoaib didn't really mean to say "muslims", but intended "Pakistan". I hope the Pakistan Board gives the captain a few lessons in English, as this might lead to more embarassing scenes for Pakistan.

But, What a game!!! What an innings by Misbah, but India all the Way!!!

Dhoom Dhoom Dhoni!!!!!

To remind Mr. Naveed Akthar about the facts about the muslim population in the world.India has the second largest muslim population in the world next only to Indonesia. Pakistan comes only third after India.
Country Muslim Population
Indonesia 203,568,721
Pakistan 143,233,526
India 125,501,427
Bangladesh 110,702,648

I'm an ardent reader of your stories but I think on Shoaib's parting comments - you are just making a mountain out of a molehill. It's obvious to perhaps even the deaf that he's the least articulate and searching for the next right word out of his brain and a sentence out of sync with no meaning whatsoever was bound to slip sooner than later. I'm a Sri Lankan but I rooted for India once the Lankans got knocked out. I'm thrilled at the end result but to read you trying to inflate a sentence out of proportion, perhaps makes a mockery of the ethics of writing. Cricket was a big winner on the night and lets not make this another outlandish India-Pakistan war of attrition. Savour the moment and enjoy the feeling !!!

By reading all the comments I am also feeling like Shoib's less fluency in English might have misinterpreted his feelings. But such a sensible captain must be much more sensible while speaking on such a big stage...For true cricket lovers, bringing religion in between hurts a lot....

You are spot on Mukul. But i believe he never intended that way.It was rather the moment that made him speak that way. Lets give him the benefit of doubt.

Dear Mr. Mukul,
I understand your criticism of Shoaib Malik, but did you think Soaib Malik meant what you are criticism. Since it is holy month he just sent his good wishes to fellow muslims so please don't create controversies out of something said with good intentions. But you newspaper man just sensationalise for nothing trying to create storm out of a tea-cup.Please for peace sake don't look for bad where there is none. thanks but no thanks

Hi Mukul, He Said - I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world, Why are we deducing that he meant that all muslims were rooting for PAKISTAN, he was thanking muslims who prayed for Pakistan, back home and where ever else they were praying for Pakistan. Pakistan is an Islamic country, their cricket team is - Qauami Team - so its Qauam - the nation - the concept of which for them is - Islamic. So whats wrong -that's their choice. We have our concept of Nation - which is secular - we have khans as superstas, kalams as president and pathans as our strike bowlers along with kapoors, gandhis. singhs and rustomjis...These are two different nations with two different ways of thinking, Your reaction to Malik's statement is coming from an Indian mind, where as to a Pakistaani mind its quite ok. Its alright they played a great game and hats off to BOTH TEAMS, just to add Malik HAS VERY LITTLE exposure for him to show more International approach like Shahid Afridi, let it be..its ok, there is no need to react negatively about it, and yes I agree with some one who said let the beer flow - this is Indian Mindset...cheers

Actually I felt more let down by Dhoni and him not appreciating the efforts of Pakistan and especially Mizba ul Haq in his acceptance speech.
That would have been a gracious gesture. Also I think Shoaib should be given the benefit of doubt as its is customary and necessary for him to bring religion and not too much should be read into it.

This was a cracking final. How often have we seen World Cup finals not live up to their expectations and become a one-sided contest. This game between India and Pakistan was not so, I am happy to say. Great Game. CHAK DE INDIA!!!

Congrats Mr.Dhoni. You nearly lost it but ?? All is well when it ends well. The last over Mistabah lost it. Why are you keeping away Dinesh Karthick ? Pathan who had never played a match so far comes and plays the finals. He is serious threat to you - watch out. People forgive and forget till you win.

its amazing how every shoaib supporter has suddenly developed the ability to get inside his head n read his mind...n therefore KNOW that he actually meant "every PAKISTANI" and not the "every MUSLIM" that he said!! WOW! great skill, guys...errr, i wud suggest that you try reading my mind now...got some choice words for u there! LOL

I think that stage was not set for wishing fellow muslims on holy month. It was a great moment with cricket at its peak. What I feel is Malik was trying for the sympathy of Pak fans. He would have thanked the organizers and the supporter fans instead. Game should be at its pure form...

Mukul,I surely feel that Shoib ended up saying something which he didnot mean to say due to his lack of English knowledge.He seems to me a more balanced character than his predeccers.
But,by pointing it out in your article such embaracing situations could be avoided by cricketeers opting to speak in languages which they are comfortable with along with translators .Than to be misquoted.

Please don't raise it as a big issue. If it get into the hands of radical forces like VHP & BJP, then they will make it as a serious offence and try to gain votes from it. So please keep cool and letz enjoy this gr8 movement. Our team has won. Appreciate sincere efforts of Dhoni & crew. Irfan Pathan has played superbly. Give them the motivation. Gud luck.

It was a foolish statement. I know shoaib personally and spoke to him later. His explaination is that he by mistake took the word muslim for pakistanis.

It was a weird thing to say for Malik. But let's talk about cricket. Let's give him another chance. He does not seem to be a radical guy.

Why aren't we talking about the great game that was played between India and Pakistan and the great job done by both Dhoni and Shoaib throughout the tournament. Shouldn't we be talking about that at this moment?

From Indian perspective, Dhoni was simply superb. He has what it takes to be a champion. All his moves were spot on and not unnecessarily complex. Bringing Joginder Sharma at the end in both the matches were the right moves given how the events had played out. His team selections and batting orders were spot on too. With Sehwag being unavailable, bringing Y Pathan was a good move too. At the very least he attacked Asif and not let him dominate the initial proceedings like he did in the first match. And let's not forget about Dhoni's own contributions with the bat. He provided the much needed support under extreme pressure situations facing elimination in the first match against Pakistan and against South Africa.

We should also be talking about the youngsters who showed poise and skills. Gambhir, Yuvraj, RP, Pathan, Uthappa and Rohit Sharma were all superb. You have to question the selection decisions in the last couple years such as selecting Karthik over proper batsmen such as Gambhir, Uthappa, Rohit Sharma or Manoj Tiwari and the way the only available all-rounder Pathan was treated.

All in all, a great tournament for both India and Pakistan. To win it with a new captain and a new team was simply superb.

That's utterly deplorable, Mr. Kesavan. Journos like you routinely transform non-issues into huge controversies, because that it what your livelihood depends on. And that is very edivent from the number of cooments your article has elicited. And I am sure that you know that Shoaib doesn't have an 'Oxfordisque' hold over the Queen's language or even comes anywhere near for that matter. I am very sure, and I am pretty sure that you too know, that he just meant to thank the people who prayed for the team's victory. It's not his fault that he couldn't string the words together in a proper manner, and you got to consider the frame of mind he was in at that moment. Why, even Dhoni said that, when he gave the ball to Joginder, he told him just to go out and bowl because Dhoni doesn't care whether India won or lost! You don't care whether you lost a World cup final? Even if it's a 20-20 one? C'mon! But I understand that Dhoni is not very articulate; he's not Ricky Ponting, be it English or any other language. All he meant was for Joginder to bowl without any pressure of performance. In the same context, try to take Shoaib's words in the right spirit, and don't look for loophole like those bloody lawyers do!

Let us pray for Cricket to stay away from rubbish politics and let us not bring Religion in. Indian youth has played a sensible cricket and have got credit for that. We are proud to be world Champions.....CHAK DE..........

Spot on Mukul Kesavan for bringing such an issue to light. Every press conference of Pakistan always starts with religious statements when they win or lose (even sounds more foolish when said after a loss).

Australians have never made any statements of a religious nature in the public post match interviews after they have won numerous inernational tournaments in front of the cricketing world. However, this does not mean they are not religious, they have players who are.

Religious statements should not be made in the post match interview. They should be kept in the dressing room. Bangladesh and Pakistan need to learn how to speak and require some serious media training.

Fine statement by Irfan Khan Pathan 'Marshallah' for bringing victory to India. It was also nice to see another prominant Muslim Indian Shah Rukh Khan showing open support for HIS country India.

HATS OFF to Shahid Afridi, who is such a patriotic Pakistani, his comments congratulating team India and the entire nation were were fitting and were well received. Those are the comments that can ease the tension after such an encounter. However such comments should have come from the Pakistani captain who did not even congratulate the Champions.

Like many others who have made a comment, I'll read Maliks mind and decide what he MEANT to say and congratulate India on his behalf.

Congratulations Team India you have made Our Land Pround.

I beg u guys. Its a humble request. Please celebrate this glorious occassion. Stop going behind these kind of nonsense. Don't allow any RADICAL forces to make use of these statements. Don't mix up cricket with Religion or Caste. India has won coz of the prayers of Hindus, Muslims, Christians & all others. Don't allow anybody 2 divide us. Its very very important. Dear Mukul Kesavan, please don't exagrate these kind of small issues. U should also know under wat pressure & depression Shohaib has attended that interview. He was so depressed and all thoughts were how 2 face their people back home. Let CRICKET live 4 years 2 come. May the people in INDIA & PAKISTAN live peacefully. God bless u all. Gud luck !!!

I had read somewhere after Malik took over as captain that he was going to take lessons in English to make him more media savvy. If one were to consider Malik's statement at the presentation ceremony against this background I think he may have made it without actually meaning what it has been portrayed as by Mukul Kesavan. Besides, he is married to a girl from Hyderabad India. Which shows him to be a person who thinks of things other than Pakistan. I would give him the benefit of doubt in view of these facts. He certainly does not come across as a bigot. Certainly not like one living legend, who comes from an aristrocratic background, and an Oxford education, not to mention his inter religion marriage and yet continues to be embarrasingly parochial. I think we should forgive him for his faux pax at a time when things had gone horribly wrong for him.

Dear Mukul
Gr8 article,but please don't go in to what shoaib Mallik said at the Presentation.It's just a bad English sentence from a pakistani cricketer,as we can expect it from them.He wanted to express somthin else,but said smethin else so bad communication skills from Shoaib mallik that's it

I m really surprised to c many Indians saying that they support Pakistani team when they r not playing against India as if they r d only ones doing it. No that is not the case. I am Pakistani but beleive me or not, I love Cricket and have a great passions for it. For me it does not matter who win or loose. At the end of the day, its a game and when two teams are playing one team is going to loose. We Pakistanis are equally supportive of Indain team, and beleive me or not I was watching celeberations going on in India after they won the match on Star News although they were using some humilating words against Pakistan. I was not upset or started criticising Indians as they beat us. Its a sport and there is always 1 winner. Ppl are critcising S Malik for thanking muslims around the world for praying or supporting. Everyone, even the writer of this article knows exactly what he meant and what he wanted to say. But obviously, as these media people are always biased about certain issues, so they will exploit every apportunity to humiltate others whenever and wherever they can. On the other hand, if the writer of article had a bit of vision and thought, he would have not caught Malik's words and wrote about them. If he was not biased in his thinking, he would have written an article to clarify and tell others that Malik meant that all those Pakistanis who have supported the team from all over the world rather than Muslims. Its very easy for us to sit in our offices and start writing about some thing that will create some sort of contraversy as we r educated, well trained and equiped to do so. On the other hand, an un-educated person, not very well trained to handle diplomacy or for that matter any sort of communications, and was emotionaly under a lot of pressure, could not express what he wanted to say, does not get benefit of the doubt. How many times you have noticed that Pakistani players when it comes to speaking to the media, they even dont understand the question, all they want to say what have been practising or even told by fellow player before coiming in front of media. Umer Gul was another classic example, he did not understand all the questions asked yesterday but said what he meomorised before coming in front of the camera. Shewag is a classic example, have you seen him coming for interviews. Their job is to play Cricket not to answer media questions or tell others how much command on the English language they have. Let us grow up whether we are Pakistanis or Indians and stop cutting roots of each others.

Wow, what a neeervy match. I am surprised though at how much is made of a few words of the young captain who was obviously nervy himself at the prospect of having to converse to R.Shastri in english. Shoaib clearly has very little command over the language. I was a bit taken aback too, but only for a second before i realized that the poor guy is not too savvy with the queen's tongue. Most Pakistani players are just not that good in this regard. So should follow naturally that a professional like Mr. Kesavan would make the same judgment as someone like me, and not make a hullabaloo out of it.

That aside... what a match!!!!

Hearty congratulations to India for taking the top honor. Good to see the cup back in South Asia rather than the southern hemisphere (Australia)...

Congrats Mukukkul for taking an innocent remark out of context and blowing it out of proportion.'looser','intellectual',your contempt for Pakistanis shows.
I know my comment will get deleted within seconds lest anyone came to judge you for what you truly are (as if no one already is!)I don't care
But you better get your act together...

by not respecting what came out of malik's mouth, we not respecting muslim culture. pakistan is a religious nation, and we need to respect that.

as far as the actual commments go, pakistan have already expressed their will to answer questions in urdu to avoid messages being misconstrued and lost in translation. if we look at malik's comments in that context, what he meant to say was - "a lot of people prayed to god for our success, and we are sorry we let you down" - simple as that.

now if i can clearly see that and ignore the actual comments and focus on the meaning, i don't see the reason why something so trivial, when put into context, should be made a fuss over.

However correct or incorrect be the statements of Shoaib be. We must leave it behind. Both team produced a great match and We must continue enjoying the game. It is incorrect to read between the lines and draw conclusions from there. The results will only divide us further. If we differ all we got to do is play better cricket. This is what will always be appreciated. My request is to forgive and forget.

I hope he meant Pakistanis (not musliums) around the world. Could be slip of the tongue but nevertheless as an upcoming bright captain for Pakistan should be able to boldly face the media and apologize and get on with the cricket. Several Pakistan media have criticized about having too much overt religioisty in the team. I hope this is not the case with Malik.

Both Malik and Dhoni did not expect to reach the finals. So they did not prepare their speechs. Both forgot to thank the South Africans, the organizers and the crowds that were cheering them.

They have to learn. Perhaps could look to the videos of Dravid on the stage as a lesson

Uqab, its not that loosing a match makes him depress its the angriness upon indians which made him talk like that, he has no right to address all the muslims of world as pakistanis, india has more muslims than pakistan, they survive as they are left to survive... indians let it be hindus, muslims or other religions they are indians first then muslims,, hindus etc,, this is prooved many times and will be proovin in future.. beware of indians,,

Definitely good game and India won against Pakistan as usual. Such a right comment that India was playing against Pakistan and not against Muslims. Also that Pakistan team is not representing muslims from all over the world.
I feel its a childish comment from Malik and just like Jesus, I want to say here, "Oh god.. he just do not know what he is saying.. Please forgive him!!!!"

Thanks Mukul,really felt bad when Shoaib said those unneccessary words. Was really looking for someone to put few words on this issue. Is it high time we should train the captains' how to speak. Thank you mukul, keep the good work.

Mr. Kesavan

The person under question has a right to voice his sentiments just as you do. If he believes that Pakistan represents the aspirations of all the Muslims in the world, and that due to this identity, the Pakistani team would be cheered for by all the muslims in the world- then why not?
Your panning him for the comments is based on YOUR contructs about what is agreeable- in this case the fact that a team should "rise" above identities of religion. Lets acknowledge that just because you write a column does not mean that you are right.

And this is why i think you should have chosen to restict your views to cricketing issues.

people r interpreting his comments wrongly
majority of the muslims in the world supports muslim n hindus support hindus
but when it comes to a country where muslims lives n their country is playing against a muslim country they pray for their country

i must say saudia arabians would be supporting us(pakistan) instead of india same as OWAIS SHAH of england would be supporting Pakistan n Jetan Patel of newzealand would be supporting india

COME ON SHOAIB WE R WITH U LEAVE THE STUPIDS WHO R CRITICIZING ON UR COMMENTS

CRICINFO SHOULD BETTER WRITE ON MATCHES INSTEAD OF PLAYERS COMMENT

people r interpreting his comments wrongly
majority of the muslims in the world supports muslim n hindus support hindus
but when it comes to a country where muslims lives n their country is playing against a muslim country they pray for their country

i must say saudia arabians would be supporting us(pakistan) instead of india same as OWAIS SHAH of england would be supporting Pakistan n Jetan Patel of newzealand would be supporting india

COME ON SHOAIB WE R WITH U LEAVE...WHO R CRITICIZING ON UR COMMENTS

CRICINFO SHOULD BETTER WRITE ON MATCHES INSTEAD OF PLAYERS COMMENT

Posted by: farah 2 hours, 23 minutes ago

well there is nothing for india to show off about, they only won by 5 runs and pakistan was not exactly thrashed were they and i believe pak deserved to win,
Farah - you can huff and you can puff but a victory if just that, the margin does not matter...btw did ur spineless team have a chance to hold it aloft?!!! well we in India are celebrating and taking turns on this blog to give guys like u proper replies.

what an issue you've created out of nothing. how sad. we now have hundreds of indians abusing malik when we should really be celebrating an unbelievable game of cricket, played in great spirit between the teams.

some of the comments are plain offensive - jai suggesting that "bangladesh and pakistan need to learn how to speak" - how dare you. you may think that "learning how to speak" means an ability to articulate yourself in english, you obviously have no pride in your mother tongue and have learnt well from your english masters.

give malik a break please.

MISBAH THOUGHT HE WAS SENDING THE BALL TO A PLACE WHERE THERE WAS NO ONE. HE DID NOT KNOW THAT THERE IS A MALAYALI IN EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD!!!

Nice blog!
I fully agree with the article. When I heard the news about Shoib's speech, I was so surprised.
These people don't even know that if they start playing as a Team playing for the nation, then only they will be successfull.
The speech reminded me of a similar speech by former pakistani captain Moin Khan who said that we are going to take the match with India as a holy war against India.

These kind of statements really hurts you and for one momment it looks like that you should shoot these kind of people who are very openly spreading this feeling among the young generation

But, anyways congratulations India!!! KEEP IT GOING DUDS

YAY INDIA WON !! though there were many times it looked like Pakistan were gonna win so they gotta be commended for that ..
as to Shoaib Malik's comment .. hmm .. i was dissapointed .. but i think posting it here and making that a big point in this article isnt really called for .. kind of seems immature (no offense) i think making only a small point would have been enough ..
apart from that i enjoyed reading this article coz u really do write well =D

I dont think Shoaib Malik meant any harm in what he said it was just a badly framed sentence like mine.
Just think about George Bush's speeches and Shoaibs blunder wont seem so bad. He will learn I am sure.
Lets live for the moment. We(India) are world champions and that doesn't happen too often.
Congrats to Ms Dhoni and the guys especially good to see Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh around. World Champions India ............lets keep pinching ourselves.

Hi,
I think, it's just a mis-tongue from Mr. Mallik. Pakistan's political scenario and people sentiment are not good. This is what pressurized Mallik to say something which he never intended to do so. Needs maturity to handle in longer run I guess. But I am sure Mallik is a very good Captain and a sporty guy, who goes beyond silly religion. So, let's not make an issue out of it.

Mukul, has praised Mallik's captain-ship as well but none of the people observed that, who are so-called Mallik's supporter.

To Mr farah,

Do NOT talk about the literacy. We know exactly who are more literate and advanced. Do I need to provide a percentile here? Well, nothing to argue on that. And yes, none is showing off here for your kind information.

If you are seriously a "so-called" literate, then observe most of the Indians and Pakistanis have commented about this being a good game.

You have told to email you but unfortunately you have not provided your email Id in the post.

There are many apologists for Shoaib's comment on this forum, with some saying it was a mistake caused by a poor command of English and others claiming that he meant to say Pakistanis rather than Muslims. If he did mistake Pakistanis for Muslims, that's even worse -- after all there are non-Muslim Pakistanis too -- rapidly becoming extinct (from 16% of the pop in 1947), but still not quite zero. That demonstrates a certain narrow mentality anyway. Too bad. But the problem is with Pakistan's education and culture founded on relentless hatred for the Other. It's not just Malik -- it's the context in which he lives.

I don't think he uttered those words on purpose. It looked more like he replaced the word 'Pakistanis' with 'Muslims' by mistake, without at all realising its repercussions. He should be taught 'post-match speaking' (Urdu or English or Hindi) but I don;t think castigating him for this gesture is the right thing to do. Poor guy...out of nervousness, uttered a wrong phrase. Can happen to anyone. I'm sure he did not mean it.

I did wince when Shoaib Malik made that statement, as did my father (it was so good to have the chance and blessing to watch with my Dad the 3rd time of India won a WC - 83, 85 and now). However, we both felt that perhaps he was uncomfortable with English and did not intend the statement to come out that way.

To move on to another topic, re: Dhoni being the captain, I would wait and see how the one day series goes. 20-20 is even less than one session in test cricket and less than half the planning of a 50 overs match. Need to see if he can handle the detailed session to session or 15 over by 15 over planning that is needed. BTW, do remember a guy called Ganguly when you wax eloquent on Indian captains. Didn't do too bad a job

Malik statement is an insult of muslims who where supporting indians and non muslims who where supporting Pakistan team.In addition to that we should not forget that malik must be very disappointed of loosing the world cup final and that too by such a small margin.so it may be a slip of tongue because improper communication,nervousness and some hard feelings of loosing the final.
Congratulations to Indian team.We are proud of yop.
Best of luck to pakistan team for there upcoming series.

maybe malik meant those muslims of pakistani origin around the world, who are not actually pakistani but still support the team?

you've made a real issue out of this and brought out the nasty side of many ppl on this blog.

To quote:
"Posted by: B.R.Krishnan 1 hour, 54 minutes ago

To remind Mr. Naveed Akthar about the facts about the muslim population in the world.India has the second largest muslim population in the world next only to Indonesia. Pakistan comes only third after India.
Country Muslim Population
Indonesia 203,568,721
Pakistan 143,233,526
India 125,501,427
Bangladesh 110,702,648"

Mr. Krishnan, it's pretty obvious that you're making an utter fool of yourself here. The figures that you've provided plainly negates the claim you've put forth. Even the grossly visually-impaired can see that 143,233,526 (Pak's Muslim population) is a larger number than 125,501,427 (India's Muslim population)! Last night, Shoaib goofed up, and now it's your turn to get mental. Congratulations! Somehow, I feel more sorry for you, with your 'holier than thou' attitude, than for poor Shoaib. Naveed Akhtar must be laughing his head off!

There are quite a few comments about giving Shoaib a break or cutting him some slack. This is fine as long as he publicly clarifies what he actually meant. This brings me to the point about whether cricinfo is the correct forum to raise this issue. To those who say it is not, may I ask which forum would be the correct one, not only to raise the issue, but also for Shoaib to apologise in. To those who have a problem with raising the issue at all, I would remind them that the duty of a free press is to inform, entertain and provoke.

Sultan from the US has raised a few valid questions:

1. Why did he say what he said?
2. And a bigger question is 'doesn't it have to do something with the kind of education these people are subjected to?
3. Don't these words reflect what their consciences have been fed? Do these guys ever realize how much it hurts the sentiments of cricket lovers, if not their own reputation?'

Some of the answers can be found in a book called “The Islamist” by Ed Hussain and “Among the Believers” by V S Naipaul, both of which I read recently.

"Mukul Kesavan teaches social history for a living and writes fiction when he can." And this time he does it different as a factionist... I have a reputation for cricinfo website.. I love to read the columns.. This one is really disgusting... Hope this is a learning curve for the blogger

Kesavan sahab, I'm highly disappointed. You have successfully managed to remove the match from the spotlight and instead concentrated on an irrelevant issue. What we witnessed was just probably the greatest match (I believe it to be even better than the 800+ runfest of SA and Aus) and yet you chose to make a mountain of a molehill. In Shoaib Malik's defense, first off, he thanked all the Pakistanis, so any issue of Danish Kaneria feeling bad about it should not. Plus Kaneria himself is very aware of the religiosity in Pakistan, and he even often finds himself saying INSHAALLAH (Allah willing) etc. Secondly, its a no-brainer that he knows that Muslims have, are and will play for India. Without actually trying to understand what he meant, you lot (and yes I include the Oh-I-felt-so-aghast-of-Malik party) blow out of proportion something, which, with an ounce of common sense one could have understood what was trying to be conveyed. As for your rhetoric about how Malik should be and what he should be saying, perhaps you do not have a clue of what or how Pakistani society operates. The fact that Shoaib like most Pakistani cricketers who come from modest backgrounds and hardly any decent schooling, struggle with english and tend to say the first thing that comes to their minds, alone should have vindicated him in everyone's eyes. But then again, those that harbour bias will actually show it through their words and actions.
This forum is supposed for talk on cricket, not on some petty issues like this one... Just give Malik the benefit of doubt and move on, there are more important things in life than these petty issues.

This post is intended as a message to you and the others too. Do post it.

Thank you.

i think its amazing how ppl who are commenting on this issue are so level headed....... i read the first 45 comments and its nice to see that ppl are not going off track and havent started a slanging session as it usually happens in forums such as dis when such topics come up//.......

i especailly liked what pakistan supporter and a devout hindu had to say.... u would have expected that with names like that what they said would have gone on predictable lines but they meant the exact opposite.....

i felt the same way as mukul did abt this issue but after having read so much on dis i think we should give him the benefit of doubt though i have to confess that when ppl start talkin like they did at yests post match ceremony it makes me deeply uncomfortable. i think players should remember that it is important to keep issues like this in the private domain.

I think Shoaib Malik wanted to say that he wanted to thank "Pakistanis living in Pakistan and Expatriate Pakistanis all over the world" - I'm sure he is intelligent enough to realize that all Muslims will not be rooting for Pakistan.

Poor English has been a hallmark of most Pakistani cricketers and Malik is no exception.

U r making a big issue out of it man! He obviously meant ".. all pakistanis around the world" and not muslims. Sometimes u gotta loosen up your ears to a guy who has had no formal education, barely speaks english and is exposed to the media who's bent upon using the language that every player may not be comfortable with. Words dont come out perfect everytime in these situations. I agree he should have practiced what he said but you dont always have time to think about closing ceremonies when you finish a final this intense. this may be a wee-bit immature of him but what kind of maturity are you, "a writer", portraying by singling out this small thing when you have the Indian world championship to sing about?

Distasteful...was how I found Malik's comments. And one can imagine how Irfan and Yusuf Pathan would have felt at that stage. I am not a big fan of Mukul's blogs but he's hit the bull's eye with this one. I thought of Shoaib Malik as one of those rare level-headed guys in the Pakistan team...

firstly let me just say, well done to you and your team. could not have asked for a better final. However to pull up Malik on the muslim comment is a bit harsh. his grasp of english is not that great and I think what he meant to say was pakistani's all around the world and got it wrong with the word muslim. If the pathans dad was an imam I presume he was still supporting India and not Pakistan. Once again well done to you and your team. Looking forward to the one day series, should be a cracker!

Wrong. So SO wrong. You have got it completely wrong Mukul. He wanted to thank Muslims who have been paraying for this team during Ramadan, besides we all know he doesn't speak english and may be was just trying to give best ineterview he could. You should concentrate more on the game than him interview Mukul. I am sorry but if some body needs to be politically corrected is you. Hope you let this go online.

great blog!

But, what is it with you guys? Isn't it a great feeling to see two teams from the subcontinent playing against each other on such a grand finale?
This is an era where Indians and Pakistanis are known world wide not because of their culture, but because of their talent, the young blood.
I dont see no problem when Pakistani bands sing songs for Indian movies and when Indians (naseeruddin shah) act in Pakistani movies.
The final was one of the best settings of the decade! And, the game lived upto its name, going down the wire.
Statements made by shoaib should be taken into account as a mere jibberish comment passed by a young captain after a heart rendering final.

A big salute to Afridi who congratulated team India for their win, somethin which both captains failed to do so.

Being an Indian supporter, I jus wan my goosebumps to stay..n i aint applyin no dermatological cream!!!

Team pakistan was my second best team of the tournament right from the 'ball-out' match. Both countries have the best talents..n Im glad, the selection committees in both countries are doing a great job!

Peace out!

i want to give shoaib the benefit of the doubt,but having heard his comments thrice(highlights+match), i just have a bad taste in my mouth abut the whole thing.it was inappropriate. but there were more people who lost the plot.Gavaskar ,who forgot that this was the world stage and was ranting about kapil dev and indian "diamonds"waiting to be unearthed. it was pathetic to hear gavaskar talk about players going on a drinking spree after the win.what about shastri who announced to a live audience a purse of 1 cr for yuvraj for hitting sixes!! and dhoni who lost his shirt after the match and walked around half naked meeting the ICC president?

Language is obviously an issue but I think it's more of an automatic response from within the cultural context of Pakistani cricket, where every statement is prefaced or followed by the invoking of the name of Allah.

I believe this is someting that the PCB was keen on addressing, i.e to tell players to keep religious matters private. After all, there was a time when the team consisted of Muslims, a Christian and a Hindhu.

But still, a much better effort than in Inzi's day

Mukul, you know where to stimulate so that you become a superstar in your writings. Are you a politician in your circle?. We should congragulate the boys from India and Pakistan to give us a class act in the field. I never seen such a drama till the end.
Both the captains commanded their soldiers really well. If so many positives to write about, why you have chosen this subject?. Even it was wrong it didn't seemed to be from shoaib's heart. Do you want to make some honey out of the stone or mole out of mountain?. Please don't demoralise the young grooming captain by writing such things as he will learn to communicate on his way.
Sorry mukul, you should be apologetic to write this column.
I loved watching India winning the trophy but I always have a flair towards pakistan's team. Don't forget that we were living toghether 60 years ago with out any boundaries and most important we are all god's children.

Actually What I believe Mr.Kesavan If you left this thing till his views which he gave during the presentation ceromany. It was ok till there but now made this thing an issude and put it on discussion that making the issue more and more complicated.
India won we accepted that but imagine If Pakistan would have won the match.Then you should have see the faces. But any way we are not here to discuss win and loss. But still I want to point out that we shouldn't have to make this an issue. I hope here I didn't hurt anybody.
But please think beyond the everything irrespect of race,color, religion and nationality. After all this is only a game.
And Mr. Boom Boom Afridi Please don't point finger on anybody because the other fingers are pointing at you.

The final was great both Pakistan and India played great cricket. Distasteful are not the comments of Shoaib, but of this article and some of the comments posted on this blog.

Much ado about nothing.
Perhaps, knowing his limitations in spoken english, Ravi should have asked him the same question in Hindi or Urdu, same thing.
30 yrs. ago an Indian journalist posed a similar question to the man of the match, Kapil Dev, who was stumped for words.
He did manage to babble a few words, but was clearly embarrased . Shoaib, probably has not had the privilege of an Oxford education like Pataudi or his erstwhile cousin Shahryar.
We have to make some allowances there.
We must shed our colonial hangover.
Urdu and Bengali are probaly the world's sweetest languages.

is it not ironic that people are so distrusting of religion, find it offensive and do not like the tribalism of hindus vs muslims etc - but then are so fiercely nationalistic and jingoisitic and yet see no harm in this?
leave malik alone.

Well written article...
Yes.. I was also shocked to hear such words in such an open forum and specially the number that would be watching it live and over the wire across the world... I remember the words he said muslims across the world...
It was really shameful...
Also the other thing that I didn't find quite fine was the was Dhoni commented about Harbhajan... well Bhaji might have got hit but that definitely doesn't call for a comment in the media like he was not 100% sure... couldn't Dhoni have justified his decision to play Joginder in a better way without hurting Harbhajan?

Mukul;
You being the analyst must have analysed the situation in true sprit. Shoaib said what he was not intended to say at all. He is a shy guy and poor in english language. He was in a fair bit of nerviousness and must have wanted to get rid of that critical time of presentation. He is not so fool as you think.

I am one of those who like to believe that religion should be left out of cricket field but Mukul Kesavan has made a big issue out of a non-issue. A learned writer like him should have given Shoaib benefit of the doubt because of his poor English combined with disappointment of defeat.

The fact of the matter is that Shoaib, before the final, was receiving messages of goodwill from all over the world from his well wishers, wising his team luck with prayers during this holly month. He just wanted to thank them but expressed it poorly. Plus the stamp of Inzamam’s legacy has not been wiped out yet. Looking at the reaction from comments made by his likeminded bloggers, I am sorry to say, Mukul by writing on the subject the way he did has only highlighted his own prejudices ... Shameful writing by stirring up the matter. It would have been better instead to celebrate a wonderful final.

Ok I think this topic has got out of hand. Mukal by giving your opinion on what shoaib said, u have opened a can of worms, hope you are happy. Pakistan cricket has had an awful time in recent months especially when Bob Woolmer died at the world cup. At that time everyone thought the team murdered him!! How do you think the team felt during this??? You have no idea!! During that time the only people who were wishing them well was other pakistanies and muslims who were praying for them. The rest of the the media band wagon were treating the team as guilty.
Now I imagine that the pakistan side have been recieving many wishes from muslims etc, for one because its Ramadan and two that they hope they do well in the final as the team has been through alot.

The people sending in their prayers to the team would probably be muslim anyway, so what is wrong in thanking them for their support???

This support has not been going on for only these two weeks but since they were treated so badly after bob woolmers death.

So this was a perfect opportunity for malik to thank all the supporters who prayed for them over these last few months!!

Anything wrong in that?? I dont think so.

Thats the problem with this world, u watch a match for 3 hours and pick up a couple of lines and give your reason on what shoaib was intending without thinking of all the stuff thats gone on before just so you can start some controversy!

Listen dudes,

Why dont you take it this way... he thanked his fans, supporters & God. If there was any other intention beyond that it is best left to the losing captain, his team & the team management. So much is true... what he said was on behalf of his team - it probably shouldn't be counted as an individual's opinion and no one needs to be singled out or blamed.

"It is a world where Muslims, Hindus and a Sikh currently play for England"

Correction: 2 Sikhs play for England, Monty Panesar and Ravi Bopara.

Oh guyzz pleasee.Malik's english is not good.Sometimes it does happen with a person whose mother tongue is not english. Whatever the first word or sentence comes in your mind(whether it is incorrect) you tend to say it. Lol these type of things have happened with me also. Iam 100% sure that he didnt say that deliberately.

it's surely a mistake. malik is representing a nation. such statements humiliate the non muslim true pakistanis who pray for there country.

I think Mr. Kesavan has over analyzed the situation. However, has revealed his self more than he would himself if asked. It's always interesting how little and minute things can upset us and reveal our true identity.

Mallu - your joke was excellant

Both Indians and Pakistanis love cricket more than anything in this world and last match was no exception. Last night when we were enjoying fire-crackers on the streets of my city in Maharashtra, there were Muslim brothers too who were more delighted than their Hindu-counterparts. I myself have seen them praying "Allah" for our victory, simply because they believe that they are Indian first then Muslin. This is the spirit of the game. I also remember my seniors applauding Javed Miandad's unforgettable last bowl sixer to Chetan Sharma. Entire India at that time admiring spirit of Javed under pressure....why? because we love cricekt and though we were feeling bad at that time, yet at the end it was cricket that won the match. So, taking the spirit with 20-20, I wish to say just forget the issue of Shoaib Malik's comments as many feel it was a slip of tongue, unintentional and let us not ignite a fuse of "religion-war" among cricket lovers....and by God..there are millions who wish to join the band of this new form of delight.

excellent game. very immature statement by losing captain. possibly he needs to speak in his own language to speak mind.
lets focus on winning team . dhoni has proved to be very good thinking captain. he gave last over to joginder possibly beacuase of slower pace off wicket and harbhajan was not using it effectivelty

Hey, don't take Shaoib's comments too seriously. I think the poor guy got it mixed up and I don't think we should take it so seriously. After such a match, it is quite possible that he mis-communicated.
I am an India and I am not a fool to support Shaib. But I do admire the gutsy Pakistani players and do feel that we are too uptight at times.

I hope Malik didn't mean that. Just give him a benefit of doubt. The important thing was game of cricket not his comments. Make better use of your article space and put few more good words about our players but stop this stupidity.

What a nail-biting final!!! Congrats to India and its fans.

Being a Pakistani it would have been a dream come true had we won, a dream we have been chasing since '92, a dream we came so close to fulfilling in '99!! Ah well better luck next time boys.You showed great talent and effort on your part.

Well done Shoaib for guiding such a young team brilliantly after all that it went through this year and hats off to Misbah. Seeing those great knocks come of his bat didnt make loosing this difficult to digest.He gave the rivals a great scare!!

Coming to Shoaib's remarks, rather then it impacting me I am surprised how Mukul is trying to stir things up which sadly shows his bias for the Pakistani player(s).What does he mean when he says "Losers medal"? Cut the scarcasm dude

Being not familiar with English I'm sure Shoaib's words got lost in translation and he was trying to reach out to ALL Pakistanis and the fans rather then only to "Muslims". Losing to India is not easy for the Pakistani team and vice versa and one can imagine the pressure and expectations they play under.I will give him the doubt but to Mukul NOT EVEN THAT considering he must be an educated man and yet he is making such allegations.

Being a fan of Dhoni I was upset the way he conducted himself during the match leaving alot to be desired from the young Indian captain. After India won the toss I got the impression that Shoaib had looked towards him, trying to reach out for a handshake but he walked off.Leave that, even after winning his actions left he with a bad taste.The least he could have done was to have acknowledged the Pakistani players.I hope he amends his mistake in the future since either he was too tied up with the excitement or doesnt know the protocols and should take lessons in it.I am proud that we have players like Afridi who was seen sharing some laughs with Harbajan Singh, hugging him and vice versa. What the heck even Shoaib congratulated the opponents so Mukul stop criticising the poor boy!

Which word does Shoaib not understand because of his lack of education or English language: Muslim or Pakistani? And what does it take to issue a retraction and an apology to all muslims and nonmuslims living across the world, in Pakistan and outside. This was a callous commment and I am glad some body pointed it out. Thanks, Mukul... Exactly like this is a cricket forum, so was the presentation. Keep religion out of sports...

Let's just enjoy the moment. Reading between Shoaib's lines or assuming Dhoni didn't shake hands - all this is a waste of time. It was a great game, a fitting finale between the two best teams in tournament. There was no acrimony on the field, no sledging (Aussie media, take note).

Mukul, your writing goes up and down. You write a few good articles only to screw it up with something like this. You are better than this.

I was shocked to hear the comment of Pakistani Captain after the match. However, i think it is his inexperience in international cricket. He didn't seem to be comfortable talking in English which could be another reason why he ended up saying senseless stuff. Anyways, congratulations to "Indians" all over the world!!!!!!!!!! we've done it.

I don't think an inability to distinguish Muslim from Pakistani has anything to do with knowledge of the English language. Nobody would have any objections if Shoaib has chosen to thank Allah. Nor would we have taken issue if he had thanked not only the people in Pakistan, but supporters of Pakistani cricket all over the world. Instead what he did was to thank those muslims who chose not to support Pakistan (including Indian Muslims) and ignored those non-muslims who supported Pakistan (including many living in neutral nations and his own coach). This is the first time for him as well and if it is an honest error, he needs to be careful to avoid it in future.
I think MK is right to highlight the comment, that is what journalists do and that is how the media is supposed to keep the rest of us honest. It will also help Shoaib Malik realize that he is now the captain of a major cricketing nation and his words and actions will be closely watched, so he needs to tread more carefully.

As a Pakistani i'm not surprised by Shoaib Malik's comment but do wish he hadn't made it. Though Mr.Kesavan your right that it was an offensive comment I think that Shoaib Malik's intentions were not to offend anyone. You must understand that a lot of these players NEVER speak english unless being interviewed and in some cases especially practice questions just to answer them correctly. Don't take my word for it just look back at any of the previous 20/20 post match interviews with Shoaib, english is not his forte. This however does not change the fact that anyone representing a nation on one of the world's biggest stages should be allowed to say such things. The real solution is to allow players to express themselves in their native tongues and have it translated. And its a problem that persists with not only the Pakistan team but others teams esp in the subcontinent. I mean do Brazilian or Spanish or Argentinian footballers always talk to the press in English? By allowing players to speak comfortably not only will such incidents stop, and also it's easier to hold players responsible for what they say. Furthermore, it will allow players to express what they feel more accurately. I'm sure some of you have seen the difference when members of the Indian team talk to the english media and when they talk to the Indian (Hindi) media. In some cases its almost like 2 different people.

As for your comments regarding the last over, I definitely think that letting Sharma bowl the last over was a mistake. When i saw it I thought Dhoni had lost the plot. But as luck or nerves would have it Misbah selected a extremely risky shot that didn't pay off. Otherwise i'm sure people would have been questioning Dhoni's choice much more. Yet this takes away nothing from the fact that Dhoni really made better decisions and out thought the opposing captain. That along with a more disciplined batting order pushed India towards victory. The battles fought were amazing RP Singh and Pakistan's top order, Yuvraj Singh and Gul, Dhoni and Malik, Misbah vs. India. The game played out as expected with fortunes swaying back and forth between the two sides. For me the day belonged to 2 people Ghambir for his amazing innings which made the Indian total, and Misbah for having the guts to turn down a single and take on the pressure. The Indian batsmen didn't give their wickets away which cannot be said for the like of Younis, Afridi, and Akmal.

On a final note , the question is not whether or not we should be able to discuss topics such as Shoaib Malik's comments, but whether you personally should be the one to address such issues? I mean no one can call your post unbiased, if you had a little more knowledge about where these people are coming from and had presented the possibility that Malik made a mistake, then we would have a discussion. Frankly, what your basically doing is making an accusation, which helps neither cricket nor the relationship between Pakistani and Indian fans. Being a student of fiction perhaps you should read, "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" by Mohsin Hamid (Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize). This match was played in the best of spirits, and the team that wanted it more won. Congratulations to all the Indian fans (of all colors, and beliefs) and get ready for payback in the November series.

The best comment here according to me:
'Indian Muslims were represented by the 11 men in blue!!'. Great sentence. If every Indian follows this, there won't be any riots.

Shoaib is ignorant and his English is extremely poor. It's obvious so I don't understand why we need to blow this issue out of proportion. Both teams played extremely well, this bodes well for the future of the sport. Spotlight should be on the Indian Team for this feat nt on Shoaib's ignorance. Looking forward to the India-Pak series.

It was a great match. Lets face it, the era of highly educated cricketer, captaining their side, and speaking refined English is over. Even look at England, Michael Vaughn has an accent which most people can barely understand.

What Malik did reflects on the heavy religiosity which has seeped into Pakistan. Lets forgive me, and hope someone talks to him for a better presentation next time.
Same for the Indian captain, and his non-existant praise for the opponents.

I think there's some truth to what Shoaib said, whatever the ramifications in India might be -- that's hardly Shoaib Malik's concern, it's for Indian civil society to determine.

As someone from an ethnic minority raised in Britain, I would always support black athletes or boxers over white boxers because I had an affinity with them on some level. Similarly when India played Pakistan in the U19 world cup in Bangladesh two years ago, the crowd chose to support their 'co-religionists' once their team was knocked out, and supported Pakistan when they played India according to the Bangladesh Cricinfo correspondent.

I also root for Arab or Muslim teams in the football world cup even though they aren't my team.

I was seriously hoping someone... SOMEONE out there writing for cricinfo would notice and bring this up... I was petrified at hearing that. THANK YOU for raising this issue!

What a storm in a teacup. So what if he thanks the muslim supporters for their prayers? What exactly is the problem here?

If Dhoni had said 'I want to thank all the hindustanis for all their good luck messages' would you object? no.

Why? cos you simply want to have a go at muslims period!

As a genuine cricket fan, this was really a dream game, and IND and PAK teams are my two most favorite teams whether they cause me pain or sheer bliss. I really admire Shoib Malik for holding his nerve and leading the team as a young captain after their recent on-field and off-field debacle. I sincerely hope that his comments were the result of slip of tongue on a world stage and I hope he meant "Pakistanis all over the world" and not "muslims all over the world".

That being said, I want all irated cricket fans to not forget how wonderful Shahid Afridi spoke soon after his captain. Afridi started off congratulating Indian team (although I am not sure if Dhoni or Irfan congratulated PAK team, but I won't go there) and that's how we should remember it. I still love PAK team and I thank them for making this whole tournament, in partucular the two games against IND, a very memorable one. Too bad, there can't be two winners but in my mind, and am sure in the minds of millions of cricket fans all over the world, both IND and PAK won this World Cup, and more importantly CRICKET won.

WHY is patrionism and nationalism accepted and encouraged whereas support based on religion considered shallow?? A person is not allowed to change their nationality and hence there are barriers to entry. Religion has no barriers to entry and everyone has their own choice. What Shoaib said was perfectly fine. Lets not have double standards now!

Stupid comments. But one has to explore just a little and realize that these comments should not be considered very surprising from a Pakistani player. Religion seems to have permeated in a big way into their team. TV cameras over the years have shown growing beards, religion swap ( Yousuf Yohana) and prayer sessions of Pakistani players. It seems to be a very important aspect of their team.
It sound strange and silly to the rest of the world but I sincerely feel that they think there is nothing wrong in thinking that muslims all over the world were rooting for them as they are a muslim nation ( those 3-5% non muslims , Danish kaneria included matter little).

When I first heard Salim Malik's comments, they were very offensive to me. While Mukul deserves kudos for bringing shining light on this matter, I cannot help but feel that perhaps unfamiliarity with english, coupled with the disappointment and fear of backlash at home may have had something to do with Malik's inappropriate choice of words. In any case I hope he learns to be more prudent (speak in urdu and have a translator) and the Pakistan cricket board caution him (and future captains) to choose words more carefully.

Its unfortunate that people have gone out of their ways to read btw the lines and have a go at Shoaib. Its been common-place since Inzy became the cap'n that Paki's started using religious terms during presentation ceremonies. Shoaib jst followed his predecessor's example. And let's face it, 99.99% of the people who ended up with a heart-ache after the match would have been Muslims. Its just a tribute to his religion, who are we to question it? I presonally know an Indian who stuck with Pakistan and had an sms war with me right till Sreesanth got underneath that fateful mishit by Misbah. Its these kind of die-hard that Shoiab addressed and apologised to, for not pulling it off. Give him credit for speaking his heart out and chide him not, for, it was such in-ur-face attitude that brought them one big hit away from glory. Kudos Shoaib. I salute your free spirit!

We live in a free world! Let anyone support any team based on nationality, religion, color, language, skill etc! A indian doesn't have to support india and a pakistani doesn't have to support pakistan. neither does a muslim have to support muslims nor does a hindu have to support hindus. BUT if they chose to do so this is their choice and there is nothing wrong with that!

1. He can't speak English.
2. His team does have a lot of Muslim supporters all over the world.
3. It might be his personal view that he plays for Pakistan and Islam, which is perfectly understandable.
4. Unfortunately, no, Shoaib miyan! Your comments are still inappropriate, because officially you're only playing for Pakistan.
There is no need to make a big issue out of this but it still is an issue and people should know why his comments are inappropriate. I'm quite sure Danish Kaneria doesn't think he's playing for Islam. But whatever! Give Shoaib a break! Being a captain isn't easy and I'm sure he'll learn from this.

"Posted by: muslim 5 minutes ago

We live in a free world! Let anyone support any team based on nationality, religion, color, language, skill etc! A indian doesn't have to support india and a pakistani doesn't have to support pakistan. neither does a muslim have to support muslims nor does a hindu have to support hindus. BUT if they chose to do so this is their choice and there is nothing wrong with that!"

No surprise here. Only a muslim like you, in the whole world' will support some other country's team on the basis of religion.

There are many naturalized Americans, Canadian and British who are originally Indian and Pakistani. Yet they support indian/pakistani teams as opposed to their current nationality teams. Is this also considered wrong?

I'd rather support someone based on their views as opposed to someone who just happens to be born in my country or is the same color as me or speaks the same language as me! Now that's shallow. Say NO to nationalism/patrionism!

Nasser said "If Dhoni had said 'I want to thank all the hindustanis for all their good luck messages' would you object? no.

If he says Hindustanis, it means Indians, not Hindus. So we will not object. Remember that Shoiab didnt say 'Pakistanis, which would been correct. He said "Muslims all over the world"
which is wrong.

Nasser said "Why? cos you simply want to have a go at muslims period!"
When will you muslims come out of this ... self-pity??

I am really tired of Pakistanis who think they can speak whatever they want, but do not like any journalist to point it. I think they are so used to the dictatorships that they cannot stand the freedom of press!

The game of cricket is fun to watch and especially 20/20 finals.Games have no place for religions,it is for all of us humans to enjoy.It was stupid of pak captain to mention religion,let us hope others learn from that mistake.

Response to Raj:
So you only support players based on their passport? I.e. you support a player based on where his parents gave birth to him! Wow that's low!

Atleast I support based on the players' views! I.e. atleast everyone has a choice when it comes to their views unlike nationality

in a perfect world, we should support players based on their skill (not nationality or religion). I.e. everyone in the world should support australia full stop.

if support based on religion is wrong then support based on nationality/passport is also wrong.

We should just support based on skill and talent!

I do think it was an unintentional mistake which Malik wasn't aware of. I am sure no sensible person would have said the same thing if he is conversant in English. So lets drop this here. The point which we are forgetting is in this match the subcontinent won. India and Pakistan are two great cricket playing nations. And seldom we have been able to get this much respect from the rest of cricketing world. Its a win win for India and Pakistan both.

"Posted by: muslim 10 minutes ago

Response to Raj:
So you only support players based on their passport? I.e. you support a player based on where his parents gave birth to him! Wow that's low!"

...When did I say anything about passport or nationality? All I said and saying is that supporting teams based on religion is not good for sports. Religion has no place in sports. I dont want to see Christian Aussies against Muslim Pakis or anything like that. It will negate the purpose and spirit of world sports.

Totally uncalled comments from Sohaib. Given benefit of doubt that his english proficiency is lacking, I hope Sohaib will take a stand in media to clarify the intend of his comments. His comments left a bad taste from a very successful tournament. I hope Shoaib will be mindful of the sensitive in the diverse world, next time he speaks a presentation ceremony.

Like I said earlier if there should be no religion in sports then there should be no nationism/patrioism in sports as well! Support players based on their skill and talent, not on anything else.

I think it was quite a usual comment made by a typical pakistani playing making reference to god.But in that quest he forgot that islam doesn't mean only pakistan.So it will be strongly ADVISABLE to Malik & co to don't become ambassdors for the rest of the muslims of the world.You got a lot of problems yourself take care of them rather than worrying abt the whole of muslim world.Its none of his buisness to thank the muslims who never rooted for them and never will ! And if his English is this bad that you can't make out the difference between words then better send your coach to do the talking for you...

QUESTION: Why did Irfan Pathan's ALLAH grant victory to the Indians & why did the same ALLAH did NOT grant victory to Shoiab Malik???

ANSWER: Very Simple...!!! ALLAH does not take sides when it comes to sports... Allah always will say, "May the BEST PLAYING TEAM WIN..."

SUMMARY: Sports people! Don't waste time praying to Allah / Jesus / Bhudha / Rama... GOD is NOT BIASED to any religion... WE ARE ALL GOD's CHILDREN... GOD WILL NOT TAKE SIDES...

For example: If you are a Parent... & if your children decide to be different (religion) will you take sides?

How about Bangladeshi Muslims? Do they support Pakistan as well? Something to ponder on for Mr. Malik!

As a NON Pakistani Muslim (and I have no desire ever to be a pakistani) who supports Pakistan, I felt great! I've watched every single ball of all of Pak's matches in the cup and it felt good to be appreciated and thanked by the captain himself! Keep it up Shoaib bhai...

Shoaib was trying to calm the Pakistani fans at home, before he arrives back home. We know what they can do... I think we can forgive him on that point.

To Muslim and Raj, you both are correct from your point of viwe and prospective. As someone else also said,"There are many naturalized Americans, Canadian and British who are originally Indian and Pakistani." Thats also true. We should not be having any issues with anyone supporting any team on whatever basis they want. Its an individual choice.
However what Malik said was different. If he meant what he said then he is wrong on two parts. First, assuming that all Muslims were supporting him. Second, he was wrong by not thanking the non Muslims supporters of his team. What about his coach?
As many of you have said he may have not meant what he said. But the question is what is the need of being so propogative about your faith on a sport platform. You can keep your faith to your own. You can thank God at in your heart instead of shouting it out infront of everyone else. As I said in my earlier post, it is high time that the Pak team finds the right balance between faith and the sport. They are a great team in the making. Their greats, Zaheer Abbas, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar and many others were not so publicly open about their faith.

It must have been a slip . The fact is that English is the second language to the majority of Indian and pakistani cricketers and fans and writers like you and readers like me.To be very honest what we wish to say and what we actually say doesn't come naturally to us in english.I would agree with you if you tell me that the captain of a national team should know better than make such a slip but then my retort would be these interviews should be given by the captains in their mother tongue with a translator especially when we have subcontinennt commentators like Mr shastri doing the questioning.I mean did you ever hear him say that We've made all the muslims around the world happy after his victories over australia and new zealand.
It was a fantastic final with some excellent cricket played don't try to trivialize it by demeaning shoaib malik . He's carried well himself throughout the tournament much better than a few other captain that we have known in the past.I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Mukul:

I enjoy reading what you write, but I think you got a bit carried away (as did a lot of people judging by the response) by Shoaib Malik's reference to religion. I have one word for you and the others who have gone into a tizzy about Shoaib's comments : CHILL

First, let me say where I agree with you. It is important to write exactly what was said. You are one of the few people who has tried to do that. I say "tried" because I have issues with your transcript. Here's what he actually said:

"First of all, I want to say something over here….
I want to thank you back home Pakistan….and where the muslim lives in - all over the world…thank you very much and I’m sorry we didn’t win… but promise we did give our 100% ….and I want to thank my teammates the way they putting their 100% - thank you very much."

Listen to this rambling incoherent statement - this is not the statement of a person who is particularly well-versed in English - what he is trying to say is - "I want to thank all our fans in Pakistan and muslim fans all over the world" - I have no particular insight into his mind (nor does anyone else, I daresay) - he would not invoke religion proudly after a game where they lost - of all nations - to India - why would he do something like that? Why would he assume that there are no non-muslim fans outside Pakistan for the Pakistani cricket team? Fair question. I'll put it down to poor judgment and when someone is smarting from a very big loss, parsing every thing they have to say is probably not such a great idea. Let it go. I dont think Shoaib did the right thing by bringing Muslims all over the world into this, but he does not seem as diabolical as he is made out to be. CHILL.

Posted by: Nasser 2 hours, 18 minutes ago

What a storm in a teacup. So what if he thanks the muslim supporters for their prayers? What exactly is the problem here?

If Dhoni had said 'I want to thank all the hindustanis for all their good luck messages' would you object? no.

Why? cos you simply want to have a go at muslims period!

Dear Naseer ,
Say hypothetically ,if Dhoni had said thanks to all the Hindustanis over the world it would imply to those who live in Hindustan and that includes all who live inside the boundaries of Hindustan or have origins in Hindustan. Please review history as Hindustan actually ranged from Hindukush on the pakistan afghan border all the way to the himalayas in the east and from Kashmir in the north to the deccan in the south. Yes the hindu right wing in India uses the term hindustan and romantacizes with the idea of what would be a complete Hindustan in the future(India + Pakistan+ Bangladesh). Another nnuance here is that Jinnah wanted India to be officially called "Hindustan - a land for Hindus" and Pakistan - a land for Muslims but as you may be aware the official name is India or Bharat and not Hindustan. The point is if Hindustan was said in this context by Dhoni as you assert it would actually be an reference to land that includes both India and Pakistan and I guess then people like you would still say - you want to have a go at the muslims.There are no winners here.
Think - religion is the most dangerous thing we have!

If you are not comfortable thinking and speaking in the English language, just speak in the langauge that you feel comfortable with. Eg: Chamara Silva speaking in Singalese after he won a Man of The Match award.

Although I found Malik's comments distasteful, I remain sympathetic to the poor guy. The most insightful response to this blog so far has been the guy who posted "he's a product of his environment". Maybe Malik was undone by speaking in a second language (understandable) but if he has been instilled with the belief that he is playing for a Muslim country and that Pakistan battles on the field on behalf of all Muslims around the world, then he was merely being honest in his sentiments after the match. While those sentiments may make me uncomfortable, I refuse, with the benefit of my English-based secular education to condemn him for stating his beliefs. If we want to be critical, then let's rather criticise the system that has indoctrinated him, rather than the man himself, who I believe is more a victim than anything else.

As for the other sign of the coin, i.e. was Mukul being unreasonably judgmental and provocative? Maybe he was - hey, he's an online blogger - but I think it was a valid point for him to highlight, if Malik's comments really discomfited him (as it did me and many others).

AS for the result- I'm delighted to see India finally win something, but please let's not get carried away. Australia in the longer formats of the game is going to be an immeasurably more severe test and we could well get thumped 7-0 in the ODIs coming up. And don't think for a moment, we can suddenly dispense with the Big Three, just because youth has triumphed in T20 - we still need our experienced and proven players, who showed in England that they still have life in them.

Mukul's observation about Joginder bowling wide is spot on. Ironically, before the finals, thought he bolwed well without louck ,especially against England where he has all those catches dropped off his bowling. I understand the tactic of bowling outside offstump, thus restricting the scoring areas, but without the requisite control, it's a recipe for distaster. I'd rather see him bowl the yorkers he bowled against Aus or the back-of-a-length deliveries against England. He'll battle to break into the regular First XI, but I think he should remain in the squad as back-up and be given games as part of a rotation system: same for all the others, none of the new guys in the squad really let us down.

Finally - I'm grateful for those two crucial wickets Sreesanth took against Aus, but I'm increasingly embarrassed by his behaviour. There are plenty of boors out there, like Andre Nel, who can act idiotic on the field. India on the whole has a reputation for decent behaviour, especially via guys like Sachin and Rahul. Much as I am desperate for India to start winning regularly and challenge the likes of Aus and SA, I don't want it to be at the cost of the national reputation. Let's try and maintain a policy of being gracious in victory and defeat and remain gentlemanly on the field at all times, no matter what the provocation. It was great to see our guys celebratng and whooping it up after the victories - they'd earned it - but I'd like to see a bit more sportmanship towards the opposition as well. It'll be nice to see the guys visibly making an effort to shake hands and exchange a civil word with their opponents after a match.

I agree with Mukul that religion is most dangerous. Do religious people including Shoaib Malik really think that a higher power takes sides in a cricket match? It is an inbuilt reflex amongst most humans to pray when they want things to go their way. But what really is praying? I would contend that it is really wishing for something and not aspiring to achieve a higher state of mind. It probably does subconciously increase self belief and focus but to think that millions of people praying for your team is actually going to make you win is naive.
You win based on a combination of ability and mental fitness. Look at the pre eminent cricket team of our generation - Australia. They win not because of divine intervention but becuse they belong to a country with a tremendous sports culture - and that makes them very physically fit. And they work hard on their game, scientifically analyzing their weaknesses and strenghts and constantly striving for improvement.
Make no mistake about it- Australia will continue to be the top team in cricket by a huge margin because of the aforementioned things. Pakistan and India will continue to have their ups and downs largely because they will never work as hard on their games and fitness as the Australians do.

wow, what a debate you've started, it was pretty sloppy journalism. who really cares what shoaib meant, it was just a spur of the moment thing. perhaps it was a slip-up (he's thanked pakistanis around the world in previous games) or maybe he was thanking british and american and south african muslims of pakistani origin (who are not actually pakistani) who support the team.

this reminds me of a disgraceful debate that occurred in 1980s britain when norman tebbit, a leading politician, said pakistanis and indians in britain faced a test of their loyalites - which cricket team did they support, england or their forefathers' team? it was pathetic nationalism and something i found really distastful. mr kesavan has started his own version of that debate. well done.

for all those bashing religion, is nationalism better in your eyes? why don't you ppl just let individuals decide who they want to support? isn't that true freedom? if a british person whose grandparents are indian wants to support india, that should be fine by everybody. it's called personal freedom. and if a muslim chooses to support pakistan, why should he be denied that freedom, ppl support sports teams for all sorts of reasons.

for those who profess to be digusted by malik's interview - that's actually a pretty poor reflection on you.

it's shame indians are focussing on this and not on the brilliant match between our 2 countries. and for those silly ppl talking about how intolerant pakistanis are, don't forget how we welcomed you with open arms to our country in 2004 in the spirit of frienship, we didn't dig up any pitches, in fact we supported and welcomed you like brothers.

The remarks made by Malik, the captain at the ending ceremony are not good. He is a professional and he should have desisted taling about religion. He said "Thanks to all the muslims in the world". Cricket is a game nad is meant for entertainment. No one should use it for religion and make remarks like that. Hopefully wisdom prevails on Malik not to use those words in future. We all like players based on their play.

Re: the comment made by muslim about supporting team based on talent....just one question mate....what are you representing when someone plays in an international sports event...your religion or your country...??...think and the answer to your question will appear loud and clear....

Guys we should give Malik a break! Mr. Mukul, you are an intelligent writer, so you should have been intelligent enough to realize the fact that Malik meant Pakistanis, not Muslims. It unfortunately slipped from him b/c of the lack of English. In Pakistan English is not as common as it is in India, so people who are not well familiar with the foreign language will always struggle and fear, especially in front of the millions of viewers.

I have always opposed to the fact that players have to response in English in cricket. I don't understand why, but have found it very odd. I understand English is an international and a well recognized language, but players who are not familiar or comfortable with it, should learn it well or just response in their language.

Common folks, chill out....as they say in Urdu, the author is trying to make 'baat ka patangar' or 'making a mountain out of ant hill'...

I know Shoaib personally and know exactly what he meant. He was thanking the South African Muslims of Indian origin who have been settled in South Africa for decades (mostly prior to the Indo/Pak partition). These folks arent Pakistani but South African of Indian origin. The muslims amongst them cheer for Pakistan and the hindus for India when they are playing each other. When these countries are playing other countries they jointly cheer for India and Pakistan. Like it or not they often cheer for India and Pakistan over South Africa (at least the older generation does). I remember growing up in Karachi intensely watching Pakistan and India games and my grandfather who spent half his life in India having a very soft spot for India during these matches which made us (his grandchildren) very annoyed. Now I can relate to him having myself migrated to the US. You always have a soft spot to your original country of birth and where you have spent formative years.
Yes, the way it came out from Shoaib did not look elegant, but he is improving his English after each match and will become quite polished over time. The author is correct, it is the sentiment and there is nothing wrong in thanking folks after what I am sure was a very hearth wrenching experience for the 25 year old.
If anyone has a religous motive its the author and all those Indians who want to go to that extra mile (e.g. this article) to prove that India is truly a secular country with no biases. Check out the recent post in the Wall Street journal which mentions how the muslims of India are the most economically and socially outcast of the Indian society.

If Dhoni had said " Thanks to India and all the Hindus around the world", it would have been a stupid comment too. I do not think that people of Nepal and Indonesia (large Hindu population besides India) would like it too much. Yes people who have migrated to other nations tend to support the teams of their birth country. Nothing wrong in it, they support a nation not a religion.

If after thousands of years of existance on planet Earth if humans do not understand that religion is the most dividing force that is out there and should be a personal thing to be practiced in privacy then I will say it will continue to be a destructive force in the future. Keep religion personal and avoid making a show of it and believe me all the conflicts will end.

Food for thought: If I say "Muslims, Hindus Christians, Sikh all united as Indians" - then this statement is great and applauded by many.

But if I say "Muslim Indian, Muslim Pakistani, Muslim American and Muslim Saudi all united as Muslims" then this is considered tabboo? WHat makes the first statement appropriate and the 2nd one distateful? Why the double standards?

To all nationalists: Honestly it should make no difference to you or me whether India or Pakistan wins. It should only make a difference to the players who get financial gain, respect, sense of achievement etc.

As a muslim, just like I want muslims to be the best engineers, doctors, lawyers in the world..similarly I want muslims sportsmen to be the best in the world. Any issues with that anyone?

To all those, who're justifying Malik's statement by his poor english:

It's not that he made a grammatical mistake or a wrong idiomatic expression. He replaced "pakistanis around the world" with "muslims around the world". You can not blame this on poor language skills. Poor education, may be. And, the writer's right in saying that a captain of such a world-class team at least should portray this maturity not to make statements which make him look like a totally uneducated chap.

Obviously, this issue is important enough for us to discuss so that Shoaib realizes what havoc an inappropriate remark can play. Consider this article and the following comments as his "education".

Congratulations to both teams for the world-class game. :-)

Referring to Mukul Kesevan's article. I'm pretty sure Shoaib Malik said "sorry" to the muslims as well. And the reason for that is simple. He doesn't want his house - or his parents house ruined by angry cricket fans who can't bare to see Pakistan lose. I have read that they were already burning effigies of the players minutes after the game finished. It's unlikely that Shoaib's words came from any fervous religious sentiment

He is a very good young captain..no doubt about it..But being articulate is one of the imperative today specially for a captain in oversenstive world..its necessary to point out naive but potentially trouble-creating comments...no one gonna crucify Shoaib but it will definitely make him more responsible...He has got a calm composure and many around, doesnt matter Indian or Pakisatni, can deny him the respect he deserves...

Because the world cup was played among Indians, Pakistanis, Australians etc and not among Hindus, Muslims and Christians.

Mr. Kesavan,

First, I must say I found your article extremely succinct and eloquent.

Having said that (and I am afraid I only find this platform to air my views), while we on addressing matters of this nature, I trust you and millions of thinking Indians will agree that ...While most other states are declaring financial rewards to players form their states...Chief Minister Modi has maintained a thunderous silence with regard to brothers Irfan and Yusuf Pathan. ...I find this distasteful in the extreme. Here you have two brothers, from a decidedly humble background, who fought tooth and nail for their country; and at the other end...refusing to appreciate, applaud and reward total committment. All because the good guys are Muslims. I do hope Gujaratis find it in them to do the right thing.

For the record, I am of Gujarati origin; my father, myself and my children were all born in Kenya. We do still have loyalty to India. But, on this one, I must admit I feel thouroughly ashamed to be a Gujarati.

Hi Mukul,
U penned this complete issue beautifully...
Keep writing... I gotta new hobby today...
Best Wishes

Mukul - I accept the inappropriateness in Malik's comments - it is sad if he meant exactly as what you understand it to be? But do not forget everyone makes mistakes. Have you forgotten the great Imran Khan's speech after the the 1992 world cup triamph. You have never made a mistake?

My question to you is, what does your article means? It is just telling us that you are a typical journo looking for some spice. You guys couldn't survive without MIRCH MASALA. I have lost a bit of respect for you.

Lets enjoy the moment and not indulge in hatred - as it is, there is lot of that around.

CHUKDE INDIA - GREAT WIN - CONGRATULATIONS

Posted by: Muslim 5 hours, 38 minutes ago
if I say "Muslim Indian, Muslim Pakistani.. all united as Muslims" then this is considered tabboo? WHat makes ... distateful? Why the double standards?

Mate! I guess when Irfan Pathan bowls to Daneesh Kaneria you are in support of Irfan. What if Irfan bowls to a muslim pakistani?
We believe that nation is above religion you believe religion is above humanity leave alone sports.
Pity, it is; education system is to be blamed.

I have been a fan of Pakistani cricket all these years.... for which I had to undergo a lot of ridiculing in school and among my friends....(I being an Indian ) but I never cared.... but that one comment from Mr. Malik just broke my heart.... He can't mean it, can he???...

Dear muslim,
u said "Muslim Indian, Muslim Pakistani, Muslim American and Muslim Saudi all united as Muslims".
if same applies to hindus then in an india pak match, whome should danish kaneria cheer for?

Re: to those few posts by 'Muslim'
Dear Muslim, Any sportsperson moves up in his career by first representing his school, then district/club, state, zone, country etc. Not by first representing his sub-caste, then caste, then sect, then religion etc. Hence, winning is a matter of 'national pride' to the player and the country. not a matter of pride to religion and religious head. If you don't understand this, please understand now. If you don't want to understand, go ahead with your silly comments and make a fool of yourself. Wishing you good luck.

Re: Muslim, one more question, u said it would make no diffrenece to you if pak wins or looses. How would it make difference to you if muslims become best engineers, doctors, lawyers in the world.It should only make a difference to those people who get financial gain, respect, sense of achievement etc. isn't it?

This was part of Times of India editorial.

There was, however, a tiny note that jarred the celebrations.It came when skipper Shoaib Malik thanked not only the people of Pakistan but "Muslims all over the world" for their support to his team. Well, hello? Did he notice a pair of brothers in the Indian side who happened to be Muslim but fought fiercely against his team to help India win the Cup? One of them even won the Man of the Match award.

Actually, that passing remark summed up the real difference - not just a five-run victory margin -between India, a vibrant, pluralist, secular democracy, and Pakistan, which alas is not. The Indian team's members don't see a pious need to identify themselves as anything other than Indians. As a matter of fact, this team has a sprinkling of several religions in it. And that is India's brilliance as an idea. It's more than anything its outstanding young cricketers have achieved.

Leave this India/Pakistan, Hindu/Muslim, I am right/you are wrong debates aside. Such a big fuss made over something that was not intended, sheez! I agree that religion has no place in sport(unless its the annual church cricket cup, st davids vs st george at the bitten oval, port shepstone,kwa zulu natal, south africa) then its not needed(hey st davids won by the way, yay!). Why dont we focus on something much more important like the oncoming battles between Kapil Dev's Indian Cricket League and the BCCI backed Indian Premier League?Comment on that now, you drama queens!

PLEASE DONT DELETE THIS...

Well, being a pakistani.. i would like to clear some misconceptions and bring out some related facts.
1. Unlike the indian fans we are more patient and DONOT go to the extent of burning houses and throwing stones at players. criticism by word is excercised most often. on the other hand yuvraj singh and irfan pathan's statements about the misery they have gone through after world cup are remminence to the fact that indian fans are much less civilised.

YOUSAF and YOUNAS and SHOAIB still have the same respect after the worldcup and never once were their lives jeopardized nor were they tormented by stupid shows like cricket crazy.

2. The spirit in which the pakistani players played the tournament was blemishless and unquestionable whereas the indian encounters saw yuvraj get out of control and abuse on camera repetedly and srishant is in totality a personality against the spirit of the game. Dhoni had no respect for the team he played in the finals.

MY QUESTION HERE IS if u say cricket should be above prejudices then dont u think the misbehaveour of indian cricket team shouldve been a topic of one of your threads.

3. The english language issue is now getting much better for pakistani's as they now have started speaking better. India has munaf patel and yousaf pathan and a host of other bowlers who cannot speak much english at all and for that matter the w.indies and the bangali's and the srilanka's too are not masters of the language. Shoaib's statement should not be concidered as a slip of the tongue or incorrect english.. he thanked his countrymen and THOSE muslims who prayed for the pakistani team.. its ramadan and hence his attention went to the fellow muslims all over the world.

I THINK THIS SITE AND THE WRITER'S JOB IS TO CREATE AWARENESS ABOUT CRICKET AND NOT TO MISINTERPRET OR INTERPRET AT ALL THE STATEMENTS OF ANY INDIVIDUAL.

Mukul, i think u have simply missed an opportunity to focus on the achievement of a young and energetic indian team which has rekindled the hopes of a billion cricket fans regarding the future of indian cricket. Your piece was quite good till it brought up the muslim issue. I am a indian hindu and for me the occassion clearly was to celebrate india's success and the passion is team has exhibited in the match. Shoib Malik is just the captain of pakistan cricket team and his views on muslims(not accounting the language problem here, the language is definitely an issue with non english speaking teams)doesnt mean anything to me, i just dont care about it, and especially when it was time to celebrate india's victory. There is enough going on in the world which is worth being disappointed about, we are not doing any good by simply posting 600 comments on shoib mallik's comment, despite being unsure about what he meant by this statement, whether it had a language issue etc..

i think its high time we keep this issue aside and feel good about the wonderful exhibition of cricket from India and Pakistan..

I am not surpirsed that Shoiab said those unwanted wards during the presentation. He just carried on from the earlier skipper Inzamam, I do get very irritated whenever religion is showed off in this fashion, I am sure Shoiab struck a chord with the Mullahs back home in Pakistan. At the same time I am also very sore with some of our Indian players, when they rolled on the ground with the Tri colour draped around them, Hasen't the team management been told of the Flag Code? If not then may BCCI must hire a Foreign Coach to teach them ( Lalchand Rajput / Manager) the virtues of respecting the national Flag. Over all a good game, but was spoilt by Shoaib Malik and the dis respect to the Tri colour by our players.

I'm a Hindu Indian, and I would like to say that, at first thought, what he said seemed really wrong to me. But when I looked at it more carefully, I thought whatever he said just came out wrong and had no negative intention. I mean, come on, the guy just got done playing some of the most intense cricket of his life, coming up with politically correct speeches would be the last thing on his mind. And another thing, I think he brought the topic of Muslims up because in a pre-match conference he said that he wanted to win the tournament as a Eid gift to the Muslims back at his homeland: Pakistan. So when he lost, he was just caryying on and saying that he is sorry for the loss, and he was saying it to the Muslims who he promised a victory.

I know what he said seems rude and mean, but I feel that it is entirely excusable, based on the circumstances. There is a possibillity where he actually might be thinking that all Muslims support Pakistan, but it's remote... very remote.

Thanks

what a biased article - choosing to make a political comment and deepen intrinsic hatred for pakistan - well done (!) some of the comments are bordering of racist - this is not the place for a political debate but you chose to make it one

next thing I am waiting to listen is Ricky Ponting thanking all whites for supporting him for his next achievement and white supremacy.

yeah what happens Irfan Pathan bowls to Danish Kaneria who do hindu lives and muslim lives wherever in the world they are support.

Hey...To all of you out there who justifies Sohaib Malik's action. As a captian of the opposition team, he should have first congratulated the winning team, rather than speaking word of non-wisdom. Thats what a Gentleman does. he should have spoken of some great moments in match, or workin out on relation between the two countries, or....something good....which he choose not. Forget English what he spoke...It takes a lot of courage to do something or speak a language in which you have a poor command, in front of THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. What made it look wierd is that where the hell in this entire world did he speak some bullshit like this ??? And To all who said it was a slip of tongue!!! Sorry Brothers....It aint a slip of tongue!!! How different is the word "Pakistanis" and the "Muslims"....For those who say leave him alone, Dont mukul have any other work etc.....Sorry Guys...these Sites/Forum/Blogs are exclusively made for this purpose....For Arguments....Debates etc...How can someone take crazy comments like this in sprots man spirit ???? Let wish him good luck to pay the price for mixing up and complicating the things....No doubt..he is a great player....and a great captain....But he should always have full thought in mind that he is the leader...and he is the one supposed to set examples...and rest are supposed to follw him....Everyone make Mistakes....Everyone need help....But unless and untill one identifies his/her own mistakes....:)

And Yeah...Congrats India....You worked hard..Harder than ever to get this....you deserve it....Maybe Pakistan deserved more....But fortune favors the brave....

pakistani players i have a request.. please let us non-muslims like you and be a fan of you.

rajiv - don't be disheartened my friend, continue to support pakistan with all our fight and flair and unpredictability. people should be free to support who they want. when india toured our country in 2004, it seemed most pakistanis were supporting balaji and india and nobody seemed to mind.

i find this fierce nationalism, yet disgust with someone who has a religious affinity with someone else, hard to understand. when nandy talks about winning being a matter of "national pride", yet is so against religious pride, why are ppl ok with that? do you not see a contradiction there? and nandy, what about graeme hick and alan lamb and robin smith and kevin pietersen and devon malcolm and andrew strauss to name a few - all players for england who were not a product of that country's sporting system - they didn't represent english schools - do you have a problem with that? i don't.

my dream is to see saqlain mushtaq playing for england now that he has a british passport, even though i support pakistan.

open your mind and let ppl choose what they want to do.

this is a side debate. malik didn't actually mean to cause offence to anyone, it's just that indians obsessed with "national pride" have a bee in their bonnet about it, including mr kesavan.

boom boom afridi

Mr. Kesavan you could have chosen to concentrate on Afridi's graciousness. You chose to be graceless in victory.

Mukul,
you know as well as i do that it was a pure slip of the tongue from a nervous man losing the final against the arch rivals.. put it down to discomfort with english...he obviously does not have your command over the language...so lets give the young man the benefit of the doubt instead of haranguing him...sure, if there is a repeat of the same next time around, feel free to castigate him...look at the kind of vitriolic jingoism your article has sparked and ask yourself is this what you wanted to achieve ??? to pick upon an unfortunate choice of words by a man whose known for his batting skills rather than the spoken word in an alien tongue is being churlish...dont you think...

The funniest comment in response to Mr Abbasi's blog. Written by Raj but I am reproducing it here cos it was so funny. Thanks Raj.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

WHO'S THERE !

MISBAH.

MISBAH WHO ?

MIS BAH 5 RUNS.

As usual Mukul it didn't take you long to go from the sublime to the ridiculous. You raise some good points and have incisive comments on matters cricket but on, sadly, many occasions you make an idiotic point as well.This is not the first time I am commenting on your blog on this manner: as a hopefully responsible journalist and knwoing fully well the sentimnents involved you had no business raising the issue of Shoaib's comment this is becasue if you are half the cricket journalist you claim to be you would have realsied that there is a good chance Shoaib would have commented in this fashion becasue it is the holy month of Ramzan and as you should know his command over the English language is not great; there is nmore of a chance that it came out wrongly and he didn't mean anything.Furthermore if you pose as a cricket journalist you should also know that Shoaib comes across as a very likable person and his congratulating the Indian team shows what a good sportsman he is (also his eloquent praise of R.P.Singh further reiterates this).

So keeping these two points in mind and also his young age you should have given him the benefit of doubt - atleast enough not to write an article of such inflammatory nature.

Also you have to ask yourself are you being responsible by raising this issue in such an ungentlemany and vociferous manner?

Not quite cricket old chap!

Nirhay Singh.

As usual Mukul it didn't take you long to go from the sublime to the ridiculous. You raise some good points and have incisive comments on matters cricket but on, sadly, many occasions you make an idiotic point as well.This is not the first time I am commenting on your blog on this manner: as a hopefully responsible journalist and knwoing fully well the sentimnents involved you had no business raising the issue of Shoaib's comment this is becasue if you are half the cricket journalist you claim to be you would have realsied that there is a good chance Shoaib would have commented in this fashion becasue it is the holy month of Ramzan and as you should know his command over the English language is not great; there is nmore of a chance that it came out wrongly and he didn't mean anything.Furthermore if you pose as a cricket journalist you should also know that Shoaib comes across as a very likable person and his congratulating the Indian team shows what a good sportsman he is (also his eloquent praise of R.P.Singh further reiterates this).

So keeping these two points in mind and also his young age you should have given him the benefit of doubt - atleast enough not to write an article of such inflammatory nature.

Also you have to ask yourself are you being responsible by raising this issue in such an ungentlemany and vociferous manner?

Not quite cricket old chap!

Nirhay Singh.

Just heard this from a friend. Enjoy

Knock knock
Who's There?
Misbah
Misbah who?
Mis bah 5 runs

Pathans unsung in Gujarat - All state governments have announced rewards for players from their states but the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat is yet to make any such announcement for the Pathan borthers'.

Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan were part of the Twenty20 squad that went on to win the World Cup.

Modi's government has so far made no comment on the duo's contribution to the team's historic win.

"In the past the government had made announcement to reward Irfan nothing came. It is all on papers. The Modi government doesn't want to do anything," said Mehmood Khan Pathan, Irfan and Yusuf Pathan's father.

No minister or government official in Gujarat is willing to comment on the issue.

Mehmood believes his sons have got what matters much more than cash prizes, which is the affection of the cricket-crazy fans.

"I hope they will play for India for a long time and serve the country," said Mehmood Khan.

See how Modi and his government is acting. He should never do this to Pathans. Irfan Pathan is our Man of the Match for the final.

Dear Mukul,

watz ur opinion on this issue. u should comment on this one also.

mukul,
i think your are being over-sensitive. your modernist rage over poor shoaib's comment is completely misplaced. can't one display his/her faith. you should understand that holy month of ramzan is going on. the young man might be thanking his co-believers for their prayers. why to react as if he his holding a kalishnikov rather than bat? so what about beloved right to profess ones religion.and please why this one-upmanship with pakistan? look at us we are secular!!! oh ho! we wear our muslim heroes as medal. this shah rukh, that pathan, o! where has apj gone. we need to show them to the world. but no they should not mention there religion too loudly for our discomfort. mukul i am avid reader of our articles but friend spare the poor malik . we are even not sure what he wanted to say given he was speaking in a language in which he is clearly not comfortable ( oh these pakistanis they can't even speak english). it's better you should look for debates on multiculturalism and secularism on your seminar circuit rather on cricket ground.

I was just watching some of the re-runs and saw that after the match the Indians were celebrating by the traditional 'western' way of showering each other with Champagne. Mr. Author, how come you didnt bring that as an issue. Dont you think it was insensitive for Dhoni and team to act like that especially with two muslims, one who helped win the game, on the team? What about the 100+million muslim fans in India supporting the India team. Wasnt that disrespectful to them? Imagine what must have gone through Imam Pathan's (the fathers) heart to see his sons being showered by this 'haram' liquid.
So you see Mr. Author and all others on this thread, one can make an issue about anything. It depends on your motives and the author's are definitely not sincere to anyone except to try to make 'mirch masala' as another reader wrote. Mine was to just make a point to address this silly article.
It was a great game, India deserved to win at the end. Let them enjoy it!

The above discussion clarify certain aspects of cricket.
1. Any cricket team represents the nation and the cricket fans around the world.
2. So it is of paramount importance that while talking to media,a captain need to be articulate enough to speak in a diplomatic mannwr truly reflecting sporsman spirit.
3.Fans need to be magnaminous enough tp support the team throgh thick and thin.
4.Religion should be alien(if not personal) thing for the player as well as their supporters.
5.Imbibe the habit to enjoy good cricket irrespective of result.
it is high time to get away with the prejudice and stigma associated with chequred history of the subcontinent.It is high time to move on..

If I think all muslims are praying for Pakistan thats my opinion. Allow me rights for free speech.

WELL, MR MUKUL KESAVAN HAS SUCCEEDED IN INVITING THE IRE OF SOME HUNDRED ODD PEOPLE IN THE HOPE THAT MORE WILL JOIN IN AND POST THEIR COMMENTS - AND ONLY ADD TO THE REVENUE GENERATED WITH THE NUMBER OF HITS ON HIS WEB PAGE !!
LET'S FACE IT -- SHOAIB CAN'T REALLY SPEAK HIS MIND OUT ; FOR ALL I KNOW, HIS STATEMENT GOT LOST IN TRANSLATION !! :D
I WON'T VOLUNTEER ANY ALTERNATIVES AS TO WHAT HE MEANT -- BUT HE'S DEFINITELY NOT THE ONE TO BRING OUT RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS ... ALL SAID, HE COULD'VE CHOSEN HIS WORDS WISELY BUT I'LL LET THIS ONE SLIP .... AND INDIA DID THEIR FANS PROUD !! SOMETHING TO TELL OUR KIDS ABOUT - I WAS BORN WHEN INDIA WON THE 1ST WORLD CUP AND I LIVED TO SEE THEIR 1st T20 WORLD CUP VICTORY TOO !!!
CHEERS TO BOTH TEAMS FOR GIVING US A FINALE THAT WON'T BE FORGOTTEN FOR A LOOOOONG TIME !!

must read books offering enlightenment:
Title Author
1 The God Delusion Richard Dawkins
2 Breaking The spell Daniel C. Dennett
3 Misquoting Jesus Bart D. Ehrman
4 Kingdom Coming Michelle Goldberg
5 The end of days Gershom Gorenberg
6 Freethinkers Susan Jacoby
7 Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds Charles Mackay
8 Why I am not a Christian Bertrand Russell
9 God, the devil, and Darwin Niall Shanks
10 Atheism: the case against God George H. Smith
11 The End of Faith Sam Harris (his list above 10)
12 Letter to a Christian nation Sam Harris
13 The varieties of scientific experience : a personal view of the search for God Carl Sagan; Ann Druyan edited
14 god is not Great: How religion poisons everything Christopher Hitchens

mr. boom boom afridi and tazz.. you dont feel it cuz you are not on the other side of the stick here.. think about how you would feel if yousuf yuhana (before he converted) or danish kaneria if made captain would say they thank all the christian or hindus supporting them and totally ignoring others.. that may not feel rude to you at all i guess..

Poor Shoaib....all he wanted was to say that..."I want to thank all the folks back home & Muslims all over the world who have prayed for us in this Holy month of Ramadan".....

1- If anyone sees a problem with this statement lets pray for his maturity & lack of understanding then.
2- If anyone feels this is not what Shoaib actually wanted to say.....then be clear....you cannot bring light to someone who doesn't want to be enlightened!

Lastly, Congrats to ALL the Indian fans. Looks like Shah Rukh was there to give a message to Dhoni....Chuk De World Cup.... ;-)

I agree 100% with you. When I watched Shoaib Malik say that I was shocked. The reason is that Pakistan has always given this image that they are a Muslim team as opposed to a Pakistani one. But I never expected them to actually say it!! OUr top fast bowler is Zaheer Khan, and their top Leg spin bowler is Danish Kaneria!! It seems like all the other teams except Pakistan have the got it right when they say "I thank god" rather than say that they thank Allah, or Jesus or whatever the name of their god may be. I think the Pakistan team management needs to draw a clear line between being a Muslim and being Pakistani. All of the players are supposed to represent the nation of Pakistan and not the Islamic community and Shoaib Malik needs to realize that sooner rather than later if Pakistan is to clean up their image and transalate their World T20 success into something much greater.

Mr Kesavan I know you are no Einstein but I have a lingering feeling you might have some brain cells. If you will put them to good use you will see he wanted to say "all Pakistanis around the world" but it was a slip of a tongue because of his obvious discomfort with English language. Otherwise he must be addressing Nigerians, Somalis, Bosnians and Saudis for their cricket support? Right!
I can see sensationalism is imbeded in Indian journalism. Contrary to what you see on your "unbiased" indian channels, we have a better record of minority relations in Pakistan. We are also sensitive towards their feelings as well. Oh and we don't use our state machineries as Terminators either ala Gujrat.

Shoaib did a mistake. That is fine.

But we Indians are happy because our team comprising of various religions and states won the cup for India

I am an Indian first and then a muslim.

Peace!!! I never expected intelligent Indians and Pakistanis to spar with each other on issues like fundamentalism, secularism, population and surprise surprise even on the much maligned Narendra Modi on a cricket blog. Guys, please give Shoaib a break and the benefit of doubt for poor English and communication skills – I truly believe that it was a slip of tongue under duress and depression. In fact our small town guys like Sreesanth, RP Singh, Dhoni et al can speak better English than their Pakistanis counterparts from not only from Sialkot, Bahwalpur et al but also Lahore, Pindi and Karachi. The joke is that they teach even English in Punjabi or Urdu in Pakistan. This clearly shows the “education gap” in 60 years between the 2 countries and the depressing education standards in Pakistan –do we need more data points? BTW, Karunanidhi to the best of my knowledge has not given anything to Dinesh Kartik !!!!!!!!

I understand that Indians got $490k but Pakistanis nothing!!!! Is this true? If so, it is very unfair indeed. The losers should get at least 50% of what the winners take.

PS: I am curious to know from our Pakistani friends whether the PCB has given them the extra cash/bonus which they had promised to pay to the team for reaching the finals.

Mr. Faesal, who has equal brain cells of Einstein, Please use those cells and understand the context here. We are not talking of any politics here and trying to gauge how muslims are treated in india and how hindus are treated in pakistan. We are just talking abt the sentiments of non-pakistani muslims or a pakistani non-muslim here and ofcourse the n number of non-mustlims who are ardent pakistani fans just because of the greatness of pakistani bowlers. Iam a hindu from India and I admire the sheer strength of Pakistani team and admire their guts and never die attitude. Though I knew we are going to win, I down in my heart knew Pakistan is the only team that is capable of turning any match towards their side. But the comments of mallik has shown the Entire World which country or people is more secular !!!

The last part of Malik is a ridiculous take, exagerrated to an even more ridiculous stretch of connections. Everybody else, of course, as is the case with South Asians, have found a place to vent their emotions and agree with Mukul. Some sensitive hearts here, 'Yes Mukul!! I agree with you!!'

Eventually Malik was just thanking people and people here must have very sensitive hearts to make such a big deal over that. Get over that.

I am sure if Tendulkar were to say I am thanking all the Hindus around the world, nobody would have written a blog and a 1000 people wouldn't have agreed.
Lastly, Malik is just learning English and obviously there was not any ill-intention involved in it. Make a use of that social psychology.

When I saw Mukul article, I immediately scrolled down the comments expecting a series of flame comments from Pakistanis and yes-comments from Indians. But I'm astonished at the maturity of some of the comments from either side. Case in point - Saad Hameed. Brings joy and hope to my soul.

a message to anonymous: if the christian youhana wanted to thank the christians who'd prayed for him, or the hindu kaneria wanted to thank the hindus who prayed for him and the team - then i really would have no problem with it, good on them. you lot are too sensitive and your "outrage" at malik's comment only helps people like narendra modi in gujarat.
boom boom afridi.

Please Mr. Faesal we have had enough! Too many people here have tried to examine, interpret, cut and splice Kesavan and Shoaib's comments in different ways. Shoaib's remark was not quite intellectually or politically correct - that doesn’t necessarily mean that Shoaib is not an _intelligent_ man. I am OK to give him the benefit of doubt. But you Sir, have gone to the extreme - of all things, you think of erecting a defence for Shoaib by riding on the Somalis, Bosnians etc., evoking the past in Gujarat etc etc - PLEASE, I humbly beseech you to not feel obligated to spout venom for the sake of it. Let it be; I am sure by now Mr Kesavan has had his fill of points and counterpoints (of Einstein-ian intelligence, or otherwise), and Shoaib himself is sufficiently embarrassed by his faux pas; let’s get on with our lives.
To all other netizens here – sorry that I chose to respond to a post rather than comment on the original article; enough has been said and written – that’s primarily the reason why I felt compelled to have my say about the drivel that seems to be dominating this board now!

I SERIOUSLY CANNOT BELIEVE THERE ARE SO MANY FOOLS WHO CAN SIT AND DISCUSS ON 2 THINGS:

1) A STUPID STATEMENT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A FUMBLE OF WORDS OR JUST A SILLY MISTAKE (COMMON HE WAS THE CAPTAIN OF THE LOSING TEAM)

2)ARGUE ON EACH OTHERS STATEMENTS AS IF THIS BLOG CAN BE TAKEN TO COURT OF LAW AND MALEK WOULD BE SENT TO LIFEIMPRISONMENT

GIVE THIS BLOG A BREAK AND ANY SENSIBLE GUY AFTER THIS WOULDNT ADD ANYTHING MORE TO IT
MISTAKES HAPPEN CHUCK IT AS LONG AS INDIA WON WHO THE HELL GIVES A DAMN

Malik again showed his team up in a poor way, why not simply thank Pakistanis for their support?...why assume even 1% of muslims from elsewhere wanted them to win..?
Congratulations to Dhoni and India, the BEST team won !

If the you people (blog-owners) will pen down non-cricketing issues, then what kind of comments would you expect from us. Full stop.

Well forums are made for discussions, so there is nothing wrong in such type of discusions. The point here is, there is over emphasis of religion specially from pakistan side, which looks wierd at times.(I.e. Yousuf conversion helped him to become a better player and score more than 1700 runs in a calander year, and this was said on TV) Relogion is nothing more than a guidline as to how a individual should spend his life, and it should remain a personal thing.

listen my friends.... in pakistan mostly people cant speak proper english.... i m sure he didnt want to say these words... n one thing more it is a month of ramadhan... so may be he was thinkin to wish ramadhan to all muslims all over da world...but he coudlnt use the correct words...
n one thing more dont creat a mountain of a mole
n he is a gud cricktr not a gud speaker

faesal......wow...your comments made me laugh at the extremity of their innacuracy. Race and religious relationss towards minorities in Pakistan are BETTER than in India?...youre having a laugh! A case in point is that only a handfull of non muslims have played for pakistan wheras muslims and other minorities routinely play and often with distinction in the Indian team.

Well done India on your great win...Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians all uniting under one banner called India. and thats how it SHOULD BE...

I am an Indian supporter and was absolutely flabbergasted when I heard Malik thanking all Muslims. After a while I thought maybe he did not mean what he said, given his poor command over the English language; but what bothers me is that he has not thought fit to clarify his remarks and that makes me believe that he actually meant what he said and that to me is unfortunate and wholly unbecoming of an international cricket captain.

im a die hard pakistan fan and i wanna congratulate india. enjoy the party guys.

Regarding Shoaib Malik - HONESTLY GUYS, IM 100% SURE HE DIDNT MEAN TO SAY WHAT HE SAID. IT WAS JUST COMMUNICATION FAILURE.

I HAVE MANY INDIAN MUSLIM FRIENDS FROM BOLTON AND DEWSBURY IN ENGLAND AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THEY ARE TRUE INDIAN FANS.

Guys , just read comments of sherry and wiser one, i totally agree with them, it was great game of cricket and lets keep everything aside and talk abt the great game. cheers!!!

"Posted by: Muslim 2 days ago

Food for thought: If I say "Muslims, Hindus Christians, Sikh all united as Indians" - then this statement is great and applauded by many.

But if I say "Muslim Indian, Muslim Pakistani, Muslim American and Muslim Saudi all united as Muslims" then this is considered tabboo? WHat makes the first statement appropriate and the 2nd one distateful? Why the double standards?"

...Thats where you guys have missed out mate...you dont see the difference between unity in diversity and discrimination based on religion...

I am sorry to see that a mountain has been made out of a molehill. This gr8 game has been tarnished by irelavant comments. Malik must speak in Urdu next time so such slips are not made. Most people know what he meant but they need to critic for the sake of critic. Those of you feel who feel offended because of his poor english, go sulk some more!! It is irrelevant . English is not his mother tounge and no apoligies are required or needed.

I totally disagrees with Mukul. His post is something irrelevant and foolish at the end of the series. Shoaib, in my humble knowledge, is a young cricketer and could not speak his emotions or thoughts well. He wanted to thank all the Muslims just because it is the holy month of Ramadan. Thats just what he intended to focus. But the way he said that was a bit incorrect. Thats it. You are a good writer, and i do respect your point of view too. But in this post, I do not think you are to the point. Its really irrelevant to point his speech here.

Shoaib Malik may have been nervous at the mike or clumsy with the English language, but it remains true that he used the words "Muslim" and "Pakistani" as if they are interchangeable. This is not an indication of his own perversity, of course. He's young, not especially sophisticated, and a product of his political environment. He has merely expressed an assumption which has been articulated by more sophisticated, better educated Pakistanis, like Shahryar Khan, who not long ago described an England-Pakistan series as a contest between "a Christian team and a Muslim team." No wonder Yousuf Youhana is now Md. Yousuf. This is the predictable result of the Islamization that the two ul-Haqs - Inzamam and Zia - injected into Pakistani cricket and Pakistani society respectively.

I was personally quite disappointed with Mukul's article.

Yes, it was wonderfully written, factually accurate and it conveyed some excellent arguments. However, as his first post after the spectaculor end to a fantastic final, I thought it was rather sour to focus half of the article on Shoaib Malik's crass comments. There were so many positives from this tournament, none more so than the excellent final, and after the turmoil that has affected cricket over this year I think it would have been far more apt to express gratitude and praise for the recovery of the game.

I think any reasonable person can conclude that Shoaib's comments were in bad taste. I'm a Muslim in Pakistan and they certainly made me wince. However I think a paragraph expressing distate for the comments would have sufficed, rather than the torrent of negativity shown by Mukul and in numerous comments since.

Shoaib was questioned on his comments by an Indian radio station, where he stated that he meant to say 'Pakistanis around the world' rather than 'Muslims', and apologised to those who took offence. Whether the mistake was as he said or not, we can be sure that he won't be making such comments again. Shoaib comes across as an intelligent cricketer, especially by Pakistan cricket's recent standards, and aside from his foolish comments carried himself with dignity and professionalism throughout the tournament.

He'll learn from this, and hopefully we won't hear anything of the like again. However I also hope that we don't hear the negativity generated from his comments, as demonstrated by this post and the subsequent comments, especially following such an enthralling spectacle.

I'm not criticising Mukul's raising of the issue (I'm far more critical of Shoaib), I'm just disappointed that he, and thereby numerous posters here, missed out on the opportunity to lavish praise on a fantastic tournament and amazing final, the like of which he have rarely seen or are likely to see.

I just hope that we will all have the opportunity to put this right and will be able to celebrate another amazing cricket tournament in the not to distant future.

Oh, and after my previous post about what Shoaib said, I would just like to say that I enjoyed this tournament, and especially the final thoroughly.

I absolutely loved how after being written off by so many journalists, especially in England (Hello Jonathan Agnew, whatever happened to your English team winning the World Twenty20), it was Pakistan and India that were by far the two best teams of the tournament. Pakistan won every match except the two against India very convincingly. India won match after match under extreme pressure in knock-out conditions. Together, we beat England, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, and above all, we both beat Australia - comfortably!

A match that looked like Pakistan's bowlers were all over turned round with some fantastic batting by the underrated Gautam Ghambir, decent bowling by Pathan and RP Singh (or 'Rudra the smiling assassin', as we like to call him in our house) and some long overdue pressure-induced poor shots from the top and middle order Pakistani batsmen.

With 54 runs needed of 4 overs, only 22 having come off the last 4 overs and only 1 batsman left, the match looked all over and it seemed like the tournament would fizzle out into twenty four balls of anti climactic cricket. But old man Misbah, Mr Calm-Until-Only-One-More-Shot-Is-Required ul-Haq, changed the course of the match once again. The Pakistani fans (well, speaking for myself) had hope again, and the Indian fans watched anxiously as the runs required started to get lower and lower with the balls required not going down anywhere near as much.

Then when Joginder I-Look-Like-A-Rabbit-In-The-Headlights Sharma took centre stage, bowled a big wide and got wallopped for a Misbah special, it looked like there would only be one winner. Jogi bowled again, Misbah crouched down and we all knew what was coming. The Ashraful scoop duly appeared, the ball went up into the air past Dhoni and millions, nay billions perhaps held their breath.

There it was, the ball in the air and the crowd in the background. Is it clearing the rope, have Pakistan won this? Oh yes...oh no, the ball is coming down and it doesn't look like it's going to clear the boundary - a 4 perhaps, I'll take that!.. oh no, it's not even going that far...oh no, there's a fielder under it, it's Sreesanth, it's out.

Pakistan have lost, India have won! Gutted, we were so close but my God what a match! Look World, forget that last world cup, now this is cricket, this is entertainment! Look at those Indians, wild with jubilation and ecstatic with happiness, look at those Pakistanis, shocked and distraught, look at Misbah, who will be re-playing that shot in his dreams for the rest of his life.

What an amazing start to the tournament. Chris Gayle, you finally woke up for an hour and that was out of this world. What fantastic cricket throughout the tournament. Yuvraj, you can forget about that crazed Dimi belting you for sixes forever now. What an unbelievable ending, Sreesanth, you must have been shaking like jelly but the ball ended up safely in your hands and how good must you have felt.

Shoaib Malik's comments? They were just that, comments. I love cricket. And my God, that was cricket, that was entertainment, that was life.

Mukul,

If in the follwing extract, you are implying that Tiger went to Harrow, you are mistaken.

Mansur (and later Saif) both studied at Winchester!

-Maz

And the Nawab was born hosed and shod with Harrow to help and a silver service in his mouth.

Thanks Maz. Corrected now. Mukul.

I think everyone is making too much out of a statement by someone who doesn't speak english very well and was very emotional and upset at losing a big match he should have won . I don't think he in his wildest dreams would have imagined what mukul has deduced from shoaib's comments.I find him as a humble guy and will give him the benefit of doubt.He should be more careful in future. And mukul chill out man.

Ok dude, i think you are taking maliks comments out of proportion.
First thing to consider is that he doesnt know english.
Second thing to consider is that some of the players in the team were fasting not as pakistanis but as muslims and so something to that regard might have been in maliks head, he probably decided not to say anything about it but still uttered out muslims.
Thirdly i dont personally feel its that big an issue
and last thing i can gather from this article is that you are neither a pakistani nor a muslim and are annoyed that malik didnt thank you.
ill tell him to send you a personal thank you card.

I have not heard it but it feels like it was simply the language issue. He does speak fair English but is not fluent. Plus, one can get easily mixed up in front of cameras and so many people, specially after losing a almost-won match.

Lets move on guys!

There is lot of difference between Islam and other religions. Its is not just a relgion..Its a complete way of living. A true Muslim is Muslim in whatever he does n whatever he talks. A true Muslim is proud to say it all open and loud. Something people like u dont like. What Shoib Malik said was a statement of a true Muslim but unfortunately some narrow minded people get personal and are not able to understand that Shoib Maliks statements was just an apology to all Muslim in the world who prayed for his teams success and not to hurt anybodies sentiments.

I really liked Malik's comments. It gives us Muslims the feeling of solidarity. The indian muslims should know better than to criticize him. With Muslims, we support each other even in sports. We like when Pakistan wins, but also appreciate when Irfan/Zaheer/Wasim/Kaif do well for india.

Rightly put Farhan, I just hope some of these narrow-minded people would understand that.

Wlll, at least we've seen the end to "first of all thanks to All Mighty Allah" interviews of Inzamam.

Too much has been written and read into Shoaib's comments without trying to understand what he may have wanted to say.

Mentioning God's name in Pakistan reflects the cultural fabric, not necessarily religious indoctrination or views. One wouldnt be surprised to hear Danish Kaneria say 'inshallah'. Thats just the way things are over there.

Shoaib is a smart intelligent leader with a lot of potential. He will develop good jugdement in due course of time. And lets not forget good judgement often comes from the repurcussions of bad judgement. Fortunately for the Pakistani fans Shoaib judgement was right where it mattered.

Also - there is too much of an expectation from the fans and media from our sportmen. Charles Barkley, one of the most gifted NBA players always argued that athletes should not be considered role modles. He was there to dunk the ball, not to teach kids how to behave. Likewise, Shoaib's competency should be judged by how well hhe as collected and developed a bruised and battered side - not by his ability to articulate his emotions after a heated contest in the most politically correct fashion.

If we take the statement word by word then I definately would agree with Mukul and it really was something which surprised me as well. Shoaib's comments were wrong, having said this I must also stete here that most of the Pakistani players are not very good at English and may be Shoaib faild to construct a proper sentance to translate his sentiments. I am a Pakistani and a muslim too, I have known Shoaib for a long time now and I am convinced that Shoaib may have faltered becuase of his weak english. He is a very simple type of a person, some one who would never say anything to harm others.

Mr. Mukul I am grateful that you wrote about it and as a Pakistani and a lover of the game will accept it as a very constructive criticsm. Shoaib must also read this and maybe it will help him in future, maybe he will think twice before he speaks next time. You have actually done a great service by pointing this out.

Rgds......pakigreen

I think ppl r over reacting over Shoaib Malik's comments in the final. He used the statement especially to thank Muslims in Ramadan who had been praying hard for the Pakistani team. Did the Hindus or the Christians had a significant holy month they were using to pray for the Pakistani team. No! It all fell there on the final becoz Ramadan was in the mind of the captain. And people who sacrificed their religious obligation just to watch and pray for the Pakistani team need to be thanked.

Farhan, I am a Muslim too, but I certainly do not agree with some of your points. According to me it was just a slip from him or he couldn't phrase it properly. There were non-Muslims too who were supporting Pakistan. I read somewhere that he himself apologized for his comments.

It was a great game of cricket, not just great, but one of the best games ever seen, so let's just move on and hope to see such games in the future.

well a lot of guys are abusing here shoaib malik...dont be get so panicked...he was not mean to say that all muslims of the world were praising for pakistan and we know that..what he meant to say that all the muslims which are pakistanis...only pakistanis...not indians or what so ever...we all know that..sorry to say here are the areas where indians are so narrow minded...we have not noticed that..but you people oh my god taking that so seriously that i cant imagine...that shows how seriously sick u people are and talking about that u were praising umer gul for his brilliant bowling i dont think so..open your minds...he meant to say the muslims of pakistan...again sorry if this hurts you but its true.....

Anyone with an iota of sense should realise that the majority of Pakistan cricketers struggle with the queens lingo. Shoaibs comments were almost the best half a dozen words he could cope with at that time, strung together. It is quite obvious to me that he never meant that cricket is religiously segregated or was in any way trying anything apart from thank his supporters and fans. We are reading too much into something which was never meant to be offensive.

i think you got the wqrong perspective from it first of all bcz its the month of ramazan the religious emotions overtook him, secondly he didnt mean 2 hurt emotions of any1 these were the raw thoughts that prevail in a normal pakistani, so thoose of u who's pitriotism got hurt it wasnt meant 2 do so

I think Mukul's point is spot-on. Shoaib’s was a poorly worded statement and conveyed the wrong sentiment. However, I think what Shoaib intended to say was: “I want to thank everyone back home in Pakistan and wherever Pakistanis live all over the world.”
I may be wrong here but I think this is what he meant to say. Most Pakistani cricketers have a real hard time speaking English and often mess up while putting words together to convey what they want to say. Compare the spoken English skills of Indian or Sri Lankan team man-to-man with the Pakistan team and you’ll get the answer.

Why cant we all get along ,There will always be bloopers coming out of some of these guys , but yet we are discussing it like we all want to do something about it , what we should do is to have ICC control its Teams from mixing race , religion, cast ,from its interviews, and just comment on what happen on the field ,not because of their religion ,cast ,race that they lost game ETC...But Good Luck getting anywhere withICC...

Shoaib was being very honest so far his own world view is concerned. Many people are blinded by faith and do not see the world outside their religion.
Mukul has been very good in raising this point. Actually it is the education in Pakistan that fails to teach these young people that there is a world and life outside their faith.

"First of all I want to say something over here. I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world."
I think Mukul is trying to put a media spin on this comment. I really dont think he was implying anything rather he was thanking Pakistan supporters all over the world and his inabiltiy to express this in english was shown up here. I think its worth mentioning the month of ramadan is a time of the year where muslims are probably most spiritaul and he wanted to thank ppl how had made prayers for the Pakistan teams success. There is no point over reacting to a comment made by Malik at an emotional time, after an amazing game of cricket. Shoaib Malik is not a spokes person for anyone just a cricketer and shud be treated as such.

well i have to say ive been following this forum and to tell all you guys the truth this article is not really worth commenting on but beacause all of you guys think it is ill add my 2 pence worth aswell. most of the people who have made claims that their are more muslims in india and irfan pathan and danish kaneria etc. etc. all of this is irrelevant and also a certain Jimmy Neutron said if anyone agrees with such sentiments there is no room for them in cricket well i am eager to see Jimmy expell Shoaib from cricket and im sure we would all pay to see that. more realistically Shoaib made a mistake a slip of the tongue but i dont think he needs to apologise for it so all of you guys still waiting well carry on waiting it aint coming. Most importantly however religion should not be brought into sports as it will provide fuel for such articles and such forums but for a religious person it maybe a little difficult to cut out certain phrases of their vocabulary lets give the guy a break and if we want people to concentarate on cricket then lets do that here and talk about cricket. p.s. all the indian muslims who are ditraught by this comment well in reality what can you do but lament.

Hmmm....I have said it before, you Indians (not Hindus) are blessed to be in a country where the education system is as good, if not better, than the US. Our(Pakistani) education system for the lack of better words is shit. You can tell by the way Inzi spoke. I was hoping Malik had a bit more education. But by now Mukul should now this, and not make such a big ... deal over it. I think the Pakistan Cricket has finaly realized it and are giving classes. But for some of you .... (starting with Mukul) who are making a big deal of Malik's comments are no less ignorant than he is. Of all the people I cannot belive Mukul actualy wirtes for cricinfo. Its people like you who take the fun out of cricket and make it a war. You are taking the the comment way more than what it was meant, and you are the one who are instigating this Muslim/Hindu divide. How are you working at cricinfo is more puzzling to me

I think Shoaib Malik wants to thanks Pakisanis all over the world but Since i know people like me who are not comfortably speak english confuses PAkistanis with Muslim, I know Pakistani cricket team is full of people who never went to school after 10th grade and all they know is to play cricket. It is PCB and Malik mistake which has hurt even pakistanis like me on this type of forum.

I apologize to all on behalf of all of cricket admirers of pakistan

I'd just like to point out, to all the people who are saying that Shoaib's unfamiliarity with English excuses the comments-that's rubbish. In what is now highly organised sport that is always in the media, there is no excuse for such gaffes. Shoaib simply wasn't prepared well enough. If english really is the issue, he should have (since he knew he would be interviewed after the match), in consultation with the team staff (who have a better command of english) prepared a statement to give at the interview time, to remove any risk of a gaffe-observant sports fans would know captains in many sports around the world, who struggle with english, do this for precisely this reason. If he really didn't want to do this, then the PR manager should have ensured he couldn't be interviewed in English, which is half their job (and exactly what has been happening at the rugby world cup). There is no excuse for such a comment as the one that was made, gaffe or no gaffe. Let's just hope it was a gaffe, and that Shoaib really doesn't think and believe like that-that would be even worse.

stop making such a big issue of a tounge of slip....oops =P

by the way.....on tuesday(the next day after the final) i was watching aaj tv (yes the indian one) and the host called malik...who cleared the fact that he didnt mean to say muslims but just meant to say our supporters but was just caught in the moment....so again...GET OVER IT....it was a great match...thtz it
oh n btw...someone in their comemnts also mentioned this but neither of the team captains thanked each other for a good game, i think that was a bit cheesy on both of the captains' part.

well DANISHAmin i am a muslim from oman and i always like to support india and it is my request that please dont try to damage the image of muslims. you have no right to say that any muslim whpo is not indian will support pakistan. if he ios doing like this he is not cricket fan. i have never been to india or pakistan. but i watched lots of cricket at sharjah and from there my interest developed. people like you are also eqaully responsible for the treatrment being melted out to muslims all over the world along with bush. and how can u say bunch of loosers to i ndia. infact as far as i know pakistan always loses to india in a world cup. and they lost yet again. may be they dont have guts to play india in a world cup on the big stage. they might win lots of useless or less meaning ful matches. but not in world cup. here they are bunch of loosers.

Hello every body. Just read Mukul's article
and comments on his article.
Well you people need to understand English is not our country's first language. As other great nations we stick to our national language. And we feel no shame if we cant speak good english considering our contempary cricketing nation's high level of fluency, understanding of english.
So my humble request to all of you is give respect to Pakistan's Honorable Captin Shoiab Malik. He takes pride in playing for his country and leading Pakistan Cricket team just adds to it.
I am sure i have provided you with enough back ground about the whole incident that makes mukul think he thanked all muslims.. well hello mr mukul he thanked all his supporters for there prays and support. And i am damn sure he meant that.
Pakistan has just stepped to the journey of many glories to come. And i am sure we will stand out of every cricketing nation by next world cup .Go Pakistan go 160 million ppl are with you