Video of Virender Sehwag praising Pakistan goes viral for all the wrong reasons

Ever since his retirement from all forms of the game, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has become a sensation of microblogging site Twitter. With a plethora of fans hanging onto every word that he posts on the microblogging site Sehwag now expresses his views not just on cricket but anything and everything happening in the country and around the world. Very recently his reply to Gurmehar Kaur’s tweet caught some traction. Kaur is the daughter of a Kargil martyr.

When she started her fight against the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), people used her previous message “Pakistan didn’t kill my father war did” to make fun of her and they even branded her as an anti-nationalist. She came out and alleged to have even received rape threats after her most recent social media posts. However, Sehwag’s tweet, while taking a dig at her eventually went ahead and became a meme on social media.

In his response to Gurmehar’s post, the former Indian cricketer tried to indicate the flaws in her statement. Sehwag was holding a plaque that read: “I didn’t score two triple centuries, my bat did” and the caption read “Bat me hai Dum” Which is a straight attack on the girl’s post which a certain segment has been terming a move with political motives and that she is being used as a prop to propagate a hidden agenda.

Bat me hai Dum !#BharatJaisiJagahNahi pic.twitter.com/BNaO1LBHLH

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 26, 2017

Definitely, the stance of Virender Sehwag on the issue was a clear indicator that he is all about being a nationalist. However, in an ironical turn of events, an old video of Sehwag is doing the rounds on the internet at the same time now.

The video sees Sehwag talking to Shoaib Akhtar and praising the hospitality of Pakistan. He remembers how the Indian team had a fabulous time when they toured the neighbours. As per the reports in Being Indian, Sehwag had later clarified that he did not praise Pakistan, but it was the cheque from Star Sports that praised the arch rivals. This was a clear indication saying that all his words in the video were scripted.

I didn't praise Pakistan, the checque I received from Star Sports did.~ Virendra Sehwag (2017) pic.twitter.com/wIj18cWGus

— History of India (@RealHistoryPic) February 28, 2017