'Cricket marred by hatred': Rahul Gandhi opens up on Wasim Jaffer controversy

Wasim Jaffer now finds himself in the middle of a controversy after he tendered his resignation and will no longer be the coach of Uttarakhand. This would not augur well for the side, as they have an important tournament in the form of the Vijay Hazare trophy that is coming up. It has been alleged that Wasim Jaffer tried to select players in the side based on their religion. Now, Rahul Gandhi reacting on the controversy, said hate has been so normalised in India in the last few years that even "our beloved sport cricket has been marred by it". He, however, did not mention any name as he tweeted, "India belongs to all of us. Do not let them dismantle our unity."

In the last few years, hate has been normalised so much that even our beloved sport cricket has been marred by it.

India belongs to all of us.
Do not let them dismantle our unity.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 13, 2021

Wasim Jaffer resigned as the Uttarakhand coach after Cricket Association of Uttarakhand made many changes to the team, including replacing the captain, without consulting him. Uttarakhand team manager Navneet Mishra alleged that Jaffer picked players based on their religion and created a communal atmosphere. The episode became a centre of controversy after Jaffer on February 10 tweeted clarifying his decisions which have been attacked as "communal". Rahul Gandhi's comment comes on a day finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, from the floors of Parliament, called Rahul Gandhi "the doomsday man of India". Jaffer had found support from spin legend Anil Kumble, a former India captain and coach who currently heads the ICC's cricket committee, among others. Former India players Irfan Pathan, Manoj Tiwary, and former Mumbai batsman Shishir Hattangadi have also stood behind Jaffer on the issue.