Former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu courts fresh controversy

Earlier on August 18, 2018, former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu attended the oath-taking ceremony of Imran Khan, who recently became the Honourable Prime Minister of Pakistan as his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won the General Elections in July. Sidhu was the only Indian to visit the war-stricken nation and was a recipient of severe criticism.

During the ceremony, he hugged Pakistan Army General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the act sparked a massive controversy in India. He also lauded Khan for a stupendous career and called for peace between the two neighbouring countries. Recently, Sidhu got himself tangled into another debate when he compared South India with Pakistan as per reports in NewsX.

Another controversy for the former batsman

He has said to have made the remarks during his participation in the 7th Khushwant Singh Literature Fest in Kasauli. When asked to compare the two Punjabs, he said that he travels a lot to the South. The 54-year-old retired cricketer added that he fails to understand the language of Southern India and doesn’t find the food there good by any stretch of the imagination.

The same is for the reason that the cultures are different. Moreover, he reminisced his recent trip to Pakistan and said that the language is pretty much the same. Sidhu remarked that one abuse in Punjabi is equivalent to 10 English abuses. After his visit to Pakistan, he was brutally criticised by a senior Akali Dal leader, who said that Sidhu has become a Pakistan apologist.

The situation worsened to such an extent that Bajrang Dal put a bounty of Rs 5 Lakh for Sidhu’s head. Previously, a number of personalities from India including the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, the cricketer turned commentator, and renowned Bollywood actor Amir Khan were invited for Imran’s oath-taking ceremony, but none of them attended the event.

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