With Pakistan’s hopes of advancing in the World Cup now dangling by a flimsy thread, after they suffered a humiliating defeat against India at Old Trafford on Sunday, team captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has found himself in a tough spot.
The fallen hero has been under the direct fire of livid fans, who have mercilessly dragged his name to dirt, often at the helm of hate-spewing personal attacks on the player’s physique and psyche alike.
Videos posted by tearful fans, passionate messages written again, by tearful fans and nasty memes made by…you know who, have blamed the captain and his team of losing the match to their penchant for eating too many “pizzas and burgers”.
Things conveniently went out of hand after a photo of Ahmed yawning lazily on the field went viral and set the course for it, permanently in the clasp of memes, to be one of the unforgettable moments in the game’s history.
But even before the wheels of meme refinery started to turn, chug and spit the inevitable, a section of fans at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, unable to mask their frustration after the defeat to India, actually yelled insults at him.
In a video that is going viral on social media, a fan can be heard, saying “Sarfaraz, you’re fat.” The section of fans can also be heard questioning why the Pakistani captain did not opt to bat after winning the toss on a good batting pitch in Manchester, as was advised by Pakistan Prime Minister and World Cup winning captain Imran Khan.
