Pervez Rasool responds to chewing gum row, urges to keep 'cricket out of politics'

He had apparently been chewing a gum while the national anthem was being played and behaved very casually during it that caught the attention of the Indian fans

The controversy that made headlines during the India v England T20 series, Parvez Rasool was at the centre of it all. He had apparently been chewing a gum while the national anthem was being played and behaved very casually during it that caught the attention of the Indian fans, who take such things very seriously.

In fact after the entire episode he kept mum though there was a backlash as expected.The 28-year old Jammu and Kashmir cricketer finally broke his silence over the episode during a freewheeling chat to a news channel.

In the interview the off-spinner said, “Let cricketers play cricket and don’t involve them into politics unnecessarily. I try to keep my focus on the game and don’t let these controversies affect me.”

Adding further he said, “One has to remain tough and should not give importance to such controversies”.

The Jammu tweaker touted this entire episode as ‘disheartening’.

“It is just part and parcel of the game and I am not sad that I wasn’t picked up in the IPL auction. I was amongst the top all-rounders in this year’s Ranji Trophy and would like to keep performing whenever I get a chance to play,” Rasool concluded.

Rasool, who made his debut in Kanpur against England got caught up in this controversy, which also led to IPL franchisees being wary of picking him.

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