HT Digital,
Guwahati, Nov 1: Former India cricketer Ashok Malhotra on Nov 1 landed in a soup after he called Assam players as ‘second-class citizens’ during a commentary for the ongoing Bengal vs Assam cricket match.
Malhotra made the remark after Bengal suffered a shocking defeat to Assam in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 pre-quarterfinals in Mohali on Tuesday.
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Malhotra, who also coached Bengal after his playing days, said on commentary on Wednesday: “Humare zamane mein Assam ke team ko second-class citizens mana jata thaa (During my playing days, the Assam team was called second-class citizen).”
A day later, Malhotra, issued an unconditional apology on X following an uproar, saying, “I apologise profusely if I have hurt Assam people’s sentiments with my comments during the Assam v Bengal game last evening.
“I am sorry. It was totally unintentional and was trying to speak about their progress. I regret it and give an unconditional apology.”
In the recent match, Assam’s captain Riyan Parag scored his seventh consecutive half-century, leading his team to an eight-wicket victory over Bengal and securing their place in the SMAT quarter-finals.
A post-match video of Parag gesturing towards the commentary box has become popular on social media, interpreted as a claim of Assam’s superiority over Bengal. Parag’s performance was key to Assam’s success, with an unbeaten 31-ball 50 and bowling figures of 2/23.
Akash Sengupta also contributed with 3/29, helping to limit Bengal to 138/8 in their 20 overs. Despite some promising starts, Bengal’s batters were unable to turn them into substantial scores.
