Harbhajan Singh slammed for 'sexist' remark on Anushka, Athiya during India vs Aus WC final

Cricketer-turned-politician Harbhajan Singh is facing flak for his rather "misogynistic" remark directed at Anushka Sharma and Athiya Shetty during his commentary on the World Cup 2023 final between India and Australia.

As the camera focused on Anushka Sharma and Athiya Shetty, Singh questioned their understanding of cricket, saying, "Aur yeh main soch raha tha ki baat cricket ki ho rahi hai ya filmon ki. Kyunki cricket ke barein mein toh janta nahi kitni samajh hogi (And I was thinking whether the conversation is happening about cricket or films. Because I am not sure how much they know about cricket)."

Both Anushka and Athiya were in attendance at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, supporting their spouses Virat Kohli and KL Rahul respectively.

Singh's comments received severe backlash from netizens who labelled the remarks as "sexist".

"Hindi commentators openly mocking #anushkasharma on her understanding of cricket. Hum kab sudhrenge bhai, woh sirf Anushka nahi hai, she's the wife of #ViratKohli, who has created history recently, and mocking someone while so many people are watching is absolutely ridiculous," one user said.

Another wrote, "The commentator saying that Anushka and Athiya must be talking about films during the India vs Aus WC finals because 'Cricket ki Zyaada samajh toh hogi nahi' is despicable. Misogyny is omnipresent, no matter the subject."

"...The audacity of the commentators to pass a sexist comment on such a broadcast. Shame," commented another user.

Meanwhile, the 2023 World Cup culminated with Australia extending their World Cup title wins to six with a six-wicket win over India in the final played on Sunday.