A Pakistani journalist named Farid Khan faced significant criticism on Twitter last Thursday after he announced his decision to boycott the 2023 World Cup match between India and Bangladesh. Farid Khan, based in Lahore, is known for often attracting negative attention on Twitter due to his opinions and tweets, particularly regarding the BCCI.
During Pakistan’s defeat to India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where more than 99% of the 130,000 spectators were Indian supporters, Farid Khan expressed his dissatisfaction with the crowd for jeering Pakistan captain Babar Azam and chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ to taunt Mohammad Rizwan. His announcement to boycott the IND vs. BAN match and refrain from watching it garnered considerable attention on Twitter.
India is scheduled to play against Bangladesh at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Thursday. Farid Khan tweeted on Thursday morning, the day of the IND vs. BAN encounter:
‘Reminder: I’m boycotting today’s match between India and Bangladesh in Pune. No tweets on that match today. It’s time to take action.
‘ Predictably, netizens trolled him relentlessly, and the reactions to Farid Khan’s tweet about boycotting the India vs. Bangladesh match were quite notable.
ICC WORLD CUP 2023: India vs Bangladesh
According to a report by Cricbuzz, it is likely that senior pacer Mohammed Shami will replace Shardul Thakur for the IND vs. BAN match. Shardul Thakur had limited opportunities to bowl in previous matches, where he bowled 6 overs for 31 runs and claimed one wicket against Afghanistan and conceded 12 runs in 2 overs against Pakistan.
India’s management believes that, given their strong batting performance, they can afford to drop Shardul Thakur and bring in specialist paceman Mohammed Shami, who has an impressive record of 31 wickets in the last two ODI World Cups. India’s bowling coach, Paras Mhambrey, mentioned, ‘Honestly, it’s never an easy decision. But we’ve had clear discussions with him. When we select a squad, our message is clear that we pick the team we believe is best suited for the conditions. Sometimes, players like him miss out, just as others like Ashwin miss out.
