“Misspoke and accidentally used her name,” says Razzaq

In a 27-second video, Abdul Razzaq expressed his regret for his comment to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The former cricket player for Pakistan, Abdul Razzaq, has apologized in public after receiving backlash for a contentious statement he made about Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

In a video that was uploaded in the wee hours of Tuesday, Razzaq acknowledged making a “unintentional” remark during a 27-second comment during a news conference about coaching cricket. Razzaq made the disparaging comment during this briefing; the Pakistan all-rounder was seated next to former players Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul, who were also spotted chuckling at the comment.

“My name is Abdul Razzaq.During yesterday’s press conference, we talked about our plans and cricket coaching. I said Aishwarya Rai’s name by accident due to a slip of the tongue. I sincerely apologize to her. I didn’t mean to do harm to anyone.

In the footage that Capital TV uploaded to YouTube, Razzaq said, “I had to give some other example, but I accidentally used her name.”

Fans on social media criticized Razzaq for his extremely callous comment after it was said, and the all-round player’s own former teammate, Shoaib Akhtar, denounced it on his own X account. “I strongly disapprove of Razzaq’s offensive jest analogy. This kind of disregard for women is unacceptable. Instead of laughing and clapping, the people sitting next to him ought to have immediately raised their voices, Akhtar wrote.