Just a few days after a Pakistani sports commentator claimed that the Pakistani cricket team could raze the Somnath temple, another video surfaced making similar claims
In the backdrop of the India-Pakistan match in the ongoing Asia Cup, a panel of speakers are seen talking. The host asks, “Sir if our boys give it their all, do you think we will win the match?”
To this, the commentator replies, “In my opinion, they can either do this, or I’d suggest some boys can do some firing. Just finish the match. That is confirm for us.” – this seems to be pointing to firing in terms of bullets.
Shameless Pakistanis on live TV
Losing the match so badly that they openly talk about sending boys to fire bullets and stop the game.This is the real mentality of Pakistan — terror even in cricket!
RT and show the world Pakistan’s reality.#INDvPAK #indvspak2025 #asiacup pic.twitter.com/SokEYXUW2P— Saffron_Syndicate (@SaffronSyndcate) September 21, 2025
All that happened in last night’s #INDvsPAK match!!!
Pakistan showed the world once again what it really stands for — proud of terror, but lacking in skill and honor.@RichKettle07 @realZalmayMK 1/ pic.twitter.com/X0g5Ivb6XN
— Moid Peerzada (@PeerzadaMoid) September 22, 2025
Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf sparked controversy by making a provocative “6-0” gesture towards Indian fans while fielding near the boundary. The signal, referencing Pakistan’s politically charged and unverified claims of downing six Indian fighter jets after Operation Sindoor, was accompanied by Rauf mimicking a crashing plane. The gesture came as Indian supporters chanted Virat Kohli’s name, and it drew loud boos and widespread outrage online. On-field tensions escalated further when Rauf exchanged heated words with Abhishek Sharma after a boundary, forcing the umpire to intervene. India ultimately won the match by six wickets.
A few days ago, around the time of the first India-Pakistan match, a video of Pakistani sports commentator Shahnawaz Rana making derogatory remarks about the Somnath temple during a cricket discussion has gone viral on social media and has triggered widespread outrage on various platforms.
Rana, speaking on the YouTube channel Sports Roundup on September 11, said “If you play well, then there’s no reason you can’t defeat them; and I say this with full confidence, because I have criticized this team a lot – all their programs bear witness, and the one sitting with me today, making all sorts of gestures, I keep asking, why is it like this, why is it this way? But listen to me, this is my homeland, this is my team. And this is the team that, at any given moment, can do something like raze the Somnath temple, and at any time, can scale K2. So, never hold the kind of expectations from this team that make you think, “No, they absolutely cannot do it.” It’s possible. That’s the thing,” while attempting to boost confidence ahead of the September 14 India–Pakistan clash.
“The Pakistan cricket team can even demolish the Somnath Temple any time. So, let’s not think this team cannot do anything”. ~ Shahnawaz Rana, a Pakistani cricket analyst on the 2025 Asia Cup.
For them, sports and games are not about the nation but about waging a religious war. pic.twitter.com/8dgKrTR70M
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) September 13, 2025
The comment on razing Somnath temple, widely criticised online, has been labelled as an instance of casual Hinduphobia being normalised in Pakistani cricket commentary.
The controversy comes a year after another Pakistani commentator, Sohrab Barkat, mocked Hindu beliefs during his coverage of the India–South Africa T20 World Cup final, invoking references to the sacred cow and Lord Vishnu.
“Ab gaumata bhi nahi bacha sakti Indians ko, Vishnu bhi niche aa jaye to bhi nahi bacha sakte”
Meet Sohrab Barkat, a Pakistani journalist. Hatred for kafirs is deeply ingrained in their DNA. pic.twitter.com/dFETlLvubE
— BALA (@erbmjha) June 30, 2024
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