Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai couldn’t stop herself from taking a cheeky dig at India in the opening ceremony of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
India finished last in the 60-second cricket challenge, while Pakistan came seventh among the 10 teams.
Malala along with international cricketer Azhar Ali represented Pakistan in the 60-second cricket challenge. Meanwhile, former Indian Test captain Anil Kumble and Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar turned out for India but failed to score big. After several hits and miss Team India scored 19 runs, the lowest among all teams.
On the other side, Pakistan scored 38 runs to finish seventh in the challenge, which was won by the hosts. Kevin Pietersen and Love Island’s Chris Hughes represented England. Australia came second after scoring 69 runs, while England scored 74.
Following the match, host Shibani Dandekar asked Malala about her team’s performance to which the 2014 Nobel Prize winner replied by taking a dig at India’s poor performance. “Pakistan? We were okay, not too bad. We came seventh. But at least we were not last like India,” she replied to the question.
You praise Pakistan, a nation where you can't go.
You demean India like a typical brainwashed Pakistani, yet India is a nation which you can safely visit.
Stop being petty and disgusting @Malala. pic.twitter.com/MGugFTKCfV— Vinayak (@vinayak_jain) May 30, 2019
Though Malala said it without any bad intent, Twitter roasted the young lady for her remarks pointed towards India.
Yousafzai, however, later called for the game to support and encourage more involvement of women in sports.
“Right now were are seeing more and more women taking part in sporting activities. In Pakistan, we have some amazing cricketers, including Sana Mir. These role models are inspiring women to believe in themselves that they are capable of anything. Women should engage more in sports and we all have to contribute to that and encourage women and girls,” she added.
Following the 60-second challenge, the World Cup trophy was carried to the stage by 2015 CWC winning Australian captain Michael Clarke.
