Harbhajan Singh slams Inzamam’s ‘conversion’ remark

Harbhajan expressed his frustration on X, sharing a video where Inzamam discussed the Indian spinner's attendance at teachings by Pakistan's Islamic preacher, Tariq Jameel, expressing admiration for it.

New Delhi: Slamming former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq for claiming that Harbhajan Singh wanted to follow Islamic preacher’s “teachings,” 2011 World Cup-winning Indian spinner said he is a “proud Indian.”

Harbhajan took to X and vented out his anger by reposting a video in which Inzamam was talking about how the star spinner would accompany other Indian players to listen to the teaching given by Pakistan’s Islamic preacher Tariq Jameel and was impressed by it.

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“Yeh kon sa nasha pee kar baat kar raha hai ? I am a proud Indian and proud Sikh..yeh Bakwaas log kuch bi bakte hai,” Harbhajan wrote on X.

Yeh kon sa nasha pee kar baat kar raha hai ? I am a proud Indian and proud Sikh..yeh Bakwaas log kuch bi bakte hai 😡😡😡🤬🤬 https://t.co/eo6LN5SmWk

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) November 14, 2023

In the video, Inzamam narrated the conversation he had with Harbhajan and how he expressed his desire to follow Jameel.

“Maulana Tariq Jameel would talk to us during our playing days and preach Islam after evening prayers. We used to invite Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Kaif and Zaheer Khan to come and offer Namaz with us,” Inzamam said in the viral video.

“Some other players, including Harbhajan Singh, would also accompany us and listen to the teachings of Tariq Jameel. Harbhajan used to tell me that I feel like following the teachings of the Maulana (Tariq Jameel),” Inzamam-ul-Haq added.

After retiring from cricket, Inzamam worked as Pakistan’s chief selector but ended up stepping down from the post at the end of last month.

Inzamam confirmed his resignation as chief selector on SAMAA TV’s show ‘Zor Ka Jor’ which was reported by Dawn.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released a statement to formally accept Inzamam’s resignation and set up a five-member fact-finding committee to look into allegations of conflict of interest as has been reported in the local media. The allegations pertain to the team’s selection process.

“Pakistan Cricket Board has accepted Inzamam-ul-Haq’s resignation as the chairman of the national men’s selection committee and junior selection committee and will announce his replacement in due course. Inzamam-ul-Haq voluntarily stepped down from his position on 30 October in order to offer the PCB the opportunity to conduct a transparent inquiry about the conflict of interest allegations,” the PCB statement read.