Former Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi distanced himself from the controversial statement made by his one-time teammate Abdul Razzaq involving Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. During a recent event, Afridi was in attendance along with Razzaq and former Pakistani fast bowler Umar Gul. Razzaq criticised Babar Azam and Pakistan's performance in the Cricket World Cup 2023, where they failed to reach the semifinals after losing five out of their nine matches. During his analysis, Razzaq made a comment where he namedropped Aishwarya, but it was not received well by the internet as he was criticised massively. On Tuesday, Afridi made it clear that he was not aware of exactly what he was saying on stage and clarified that he would ask Razzaq to apologise.

Afridi said, “I saw the clip when I went home and realised that Abdul Razzaq made a wrong statement. I knew he had a microphone in his hand and would say something. He has a habit of getting beaten by shoes. I will just text him to apologise for what he said, as it was wrong.”

Gul also posted a clarification on the internet regarding the incident and the resulting controversy.

He also posted on X, "Dear brother, @SAfridiOfficial bhai and I did not clap in the clip to endorse what Abdul Razzaq said, but it was in sarcasm. No one there appreciated or endorsed what was said by him. It was ethically and morally wrong. Everyone has a different perspective, and it's always wrong to name people who are not even a part of the conversation.