Faheem Ashraf refuses to play with alcohol company logo; removes it from his jersey

Pakistan all-rounder Faheem Ashraf is currently plying his trade in the T20 Blast in England and is playing for Northamptonshire. He is available for the whole tournament and so far his performance has been satisfactory, to say the least. He has made 25 runs and picked 3 wickets in the four matches he has played in.

“I am delighted to be joining Northants – I have heard good things about the club particularly as a white-ball side. I can’t wait to play in the Vitality Blast and I am looking forward to helping the team achieve their aim of winning the tournament,” Ashraf was quoted as saying by The Cricketer on joining the club for the tournament.

Ashraf refuses to play with an alcohol company’s logo on the jersey

Ashraf, like the majority of Pakistani cricketers, is a devout follower of Islam and adheres to every edict laid down by the laws in the Holy Quran and it specifies that touching or consuming alcohol is prohibited for the followers of the religion. Many Muslim cricketers are seen sticking to this law and some have even gone one step further by not wearing a sponsor’s logo on their jerseys if it is related to alcohol.

Something similar happened with Ashraf as well, given that Northamptonshire is primarily sponsored by an alcoholic beverage company, the India Pale Ale and its logo and product are displayed prominently on the front torso of the shirts worn by the players. This led to an issue with Ashraf, who refused to play wearing the jersey with the sponsor’s logo. Later the issue was amicably settled, as the county team gave him a jersey without the logo on it.

Welldone Faheem Ashraf.#CRICKET pic.twitter.com/saZgXukWPU

— Muhammad Noman (@Nomancricket29) August 1, 2019

This is not the first time that a Muslim cricketer has refused to don a jersey with alcoholic company’s logo on it. Hashim Amla from South Africa was the first to ask the South African board to remove the sponsor, Castle Lager, a beer manufacturing company’s logo from his jerseys in all the three formats and he had to forego the fees that players get from the sponsors for advertising their product.

Recently, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were seen running away from the podium during World Cup celebrations, once the champagne was brought out, sticking to their religious beliefs.

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