Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez's controversial remarks about India's star batter Virat Kohli have been widely slammed by former cricketers, with England's Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan, becoming the latest to rip into the retired Pakistan player.
Hafeez triggered a massive row on Sunday by describing Kohli as "selfish" following his 49th ODI century against South Africa in Kolkata.
Notably, the Delhi-born cricketer's hundred against the Proteas at Eden Gardens put him at par with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar for the most three-figure scores in ODIs.
Despite Virat Kohli's unbeaten 101 off 121 balls on a pitch that assisted South African spinners, Hafeez doubted his intent before mentioning that India's premier batter wasn't playing for the team and rather was more focused on achieving personal milestones.
"I saw sense of selfishness in Virat Kohli's batting and this happened for the third time in this World Cup. In the 49th over, he was looking to take a single to reach his own hundred and he didn't put the team first," Hafeez stated on a Pakistani TV channel.
Hafeez's remarks immediately triggered a backlash on social media, with several Team India and Kohli supporters panning him for what they called were "bizarre" words coming from a former cricketer.
Former India coach Venkatesh Prasad fired back at him with a retort in which he termed Hafeez's arguments "funny".
"Hearing funny arguments about Virat Kohli being selfish and obsessed with personal milestone. Yes Kohli is selfish, selfish enough to follow the dream of a billion people, selfish enough to strive for excellence even after achieving so much, selfish enough to set new benchmarks, selfish enough to ensure his team wins. Yes, Kohli is selfish," Venkatesh Prasad said on Twitter, now rebranded as X.
On Tuesday, it was the turn of Vaughan, who opined that Hafeez's comments about Kohli were nothing but "nonsense".
"Come on Mohammad Hafeez!!! India have hammered 8 teams playing great cricket. Virat Kohli now has 49 tons and his last was an anchor role innings on a tricky pitch. His team won by over 200!!!! This is utter nonsense," Vaughan wrote on the microblogging site.