Pakistan cricket team captain Mohammad Rizwan launched an impassionate defence of his language skills after he was relentlessly trolled on social media for his press conference comments in English. Ahead of Multan Sultans’ first game in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Rizwan finally addressed the trolling when asked about being mocked for his English skills.
“I don’t care. I am proud of one thing and that is whatever I say, I say from my heart. I don’t know English. My only regret is that I did not get enough education, but I am not even one per cent ashamed that I can’t speak English despite being the captain of the Pakistan cricket team,” Mohammad Rizwan was quoted as saying by Pakistan media ahead of the PSL tournament.
There were even a few mainstream media organisations who had urged Rizwan previously to talk in Urdu. Addressing those comments, Rizwan pointed out that he had not completed his education.
“The demand from me is cricket, not English. There is a regret that I did not complete my education, which is why I struggle in speaking English. I tell my juniors to complete their education so that they are able to speak good English,” Rizwan said. “At the moment, Pakistan is demanding cricket from me. Pakistan is not demanding English from me. When it does, I will leave cricket and become a professor—but I don’t have that much time,” he added.
Rizwan also told journalists at a press conference that in future he might consider addressing press conferences with a translator so that he can answer questions in Urdu.
“That is a valid point that we should speak Urdu but sometimes we feel that we can speak much to make someone understand [what I am saying],” Rizwan was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s Geo Super. “If an Englishman comes here, I can communicate with him and can even roam around the city for a day and he would not feel anything. Only those will feel, who are mad at me.”