Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was seen in an animated talk with legendary Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh at the World Championship of Legends tournament in Birmingham. This came after Akmal faced criticism from Harbhajan for making distasteful remarks targeting Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh.

Following their victory over the India Champions led by Harbhajan in match #8 of the tournament on Saturday, Akmal discussed his interaction with the opposing team’s captain. The match outcome and Akmal’s comments quickly became the talk of the cricketing world.

Harbhajan Singh called out Akmal for disrespecting Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh’s religion during the T20 World Cup. Serving as a cricket pundit for a Pakistani television channel, Akmal made a controversial remark and then laughed about the unacceptable statement with his fellow panelists. Just last week, Akmal and Harbhajan faced off against each other in the World Championship of Legends match between the India Champions and Pakistan Champions teams at Edgbaston.

In an interview with Paktv.tv, Akmal apologized profusely to Harbhajan for his previous on-air remark.

“I made a mistake, and that seemed to be the only topic being discussed. However, it was never my intention to think or speak negatively about anyone’s religion. I have made that clear. I am younger than them and one of them is a great off-spinner from India and world cricket. Despite my mistake, I hope we can move past this and focus on the game,” noted Akmal.

During his talk with Harbhajan in Birmingham, Akmal also discussed Pakistani captain Babar Azam receiving criticism from supporters and pundits.

“We discussed Babar’s performance, and you may have seen him being mocked. While Babar is undoubtedly a great batsman for Pakistan, having scored the most hundreds for the national team, his class is not on par with Brian Lara’s. As cricketers, we should refrain from mocking others. Harbhajan agreed that the mocking should not have occurred from his side either,” he added.