Chanting "Jai Shri Ram" at Pak players unacceptable, says Udhayanidhi Stalin

Tamil Nadu minister for Sports and Youth Affairs and senior leader of DMK, Udhayanidhi Stalin has said that chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' at Pakistani players during the India- Pakistan World Cup cricket match at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad was unacceptable.

The DMK leader, the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, was referring to the crowd booing and chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' when the Pakistan players got out in the match.

In a social media post on ‘X’, the DMK leader said, “India is renowned for its sportsmanship and hospitality. However, the treatment meted out to Pakistan players at Narendra Modi stadium is unacceptable and a new low. Sports should be a unifying force between countries, fostering true brotherhood. Using it as a tool to spread hatred is unacceptable.”

 In support of the statement of Udhayanidhi Stalin, several cricket fans from Tamil Nadu have called for showering love and respect to the Pakistan cricket team who are playing in Chepauk in the next ten days.

A fan named Lakshmi in her Facebook post said, “Pakistan is playing two matches in Chepauk in the next 10 days and we should compensate for what Babar Azam and team endured at Ahmedabad with love and care. Sports is for universal brotherhood and some people are making it a place for hate mongering which is unacceptable.”

The fans sang ‘Vande Mataram’ after the Indian team defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in a highly one-sided contest on Saturday, 14 October, at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. 

Fans were also booing Pakistan captain and one of the best batsmen in the world, Babar Azam when he went out for toss along with Rohit Sharma.

However, the stadium also witnessed a gesture of India’s star batsman, Virat Kohli gifting his signed Indian jersey to the Pakistan captain Babar Azam.