#ShutUpSikanderBakht: Twitterati sees red over Muhammad Rizwan criticism

Former Pakistani cricketer Sikander Bakht's unfiltered opinions have landed him in hot waters again. The 65-year-old player recently shared two cents on the Sri Lanka-Pakistan test and took a jibe at Sarfaraz Ahmed and Muhammad Rizwan.

In a television program, the cricket analyst said Sarfaraz could have sustained injuries due to Rizwan's curses. And if this wasn't enough to ignite cricket fanatics, Bakht added that Rizwan shouldn't have gone as a substitute fielder in Sri Lankan test. 

"It should have been a youngster like [Mohammad] Huraira or Aamer Jamal," Bakht opined.

The former right-handed batsman added that "Rizwan has been asserting dominance over the entire team."

'Rizwan ne Pakistan team pe qabza kia huwa hay' - Sikandar Bakht

'Pata nahin kisi ki dua thi ke Sarfaraz ke sir par ball lag gayi'

This is MAFIA! Allah bachaye in se! He targeted Rizwan and Babar multiple times, below average cricketer himself ????????pic.twitter.com/0ua4y5jwvj

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) August 7, 2023

As soon as Bakht's analysis went viral, Twitterati saw red and pushed the hashtag #ShutUpSikanderBakht. 

With millions of people coming out in Rizwan's favour, the hashtag started trending on Twitter.

Rizwan has a huge army of fans behind him who give him the support he deserves so these so called cricket experts should think twice before speaking!
#ShutUpSikanderBakht #Rizwan pic.twitter.com/gWO8Wb8CpQ

— HJ★ (@Hajra__Javed) August 8, 2023

Another user wrote, "How can you hate this man. He is always there to represent his nation and to give his 100% in the field. He is a true fighter and he fights till the last ball. Keep your opinions in your pocket Skiander Bakht. [sic]"

How can you hate this man. He is always there to represent his nation and to give his 100% in the field. He is a true fighter and he fights till the last ball. Keep your opinions in your pocket Skiander Bakht. #Rizwan #ShutUpSikanderBakht pic.twitter.com/CXUDm3Kcpy

— Emaan Butt (@EmaanBu64924722) August 8, 2023

These seniors are disgusting istg. What's wrong with this old man how come he's saying this about the superstar of Pakistan who has number of contributions for his county. Ngl foreign countries are better who at least respect Rizwan and appreciate his skills #ShutUpSikanderBakht https://t.co/p2dbPMy5zc

— HJ★ (@Hajra__Javed) August 7, 2023

Laikin mai ne tu suna tha k Rizwan k tu fans hi nai hain phir ye kese? ???????? #ShutUpSikanderBakht pic.twitter.com/0yavjtqohl

— Ayat (@ayat_shah56) August 8, 2023

you run agenda's, we run this place #BehindYouRizwan #ShutUpSikanderBakht pic.twitter.com/onfd1fmQ7f

— Teemi (@Teemi_official) August 8, 2023

@Sikanderbakhts himself has no achievements in his cricketing career; that's why he talks trash to get attention. The interesting thing is that most fans of this generation don't even know his name.

We love and respect @iMRizwanPak❤#ShutUpSikanderBakht pic.twitter.com/6V15CIaX83

— ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????? (@ZalmiFansClub) August 8, 2023

This is, however, not the first time Bakht has been critical of the cricket team or its players. He previously lambasted Babar Azam stating that "Babar has to learn a lot as a captain. There are so many people who are born as leaders. Babar is not a born leader."

"When he was given the captaincy, I said in my interview that he wasn't a good choice. I wanted him to prove me wrong by showing his captaincy but he didn't," he added.