In a video clip from “G Sarkar with Nauman Ijaz” broadcast of June 6 on Neo News, cricket player Abdul Razzaq commented on Dar’s appearance, strongly implying that the cricketer looks more like a man than a woman. The clip recently resurfaced and made rounds on social media and had twitter users fuming in anger.

Former Pakistani National Cricket Team player Abdul Razzaq said that Nida Dar is “too hardened to look like a girl,”adding to this he said,”That’s why the feeling is gone. Shake her hands and you won’t even feel she’s a girl.”

Razzaq implied that Dar had lost all her femininity as she wanted to be on equal grounds as the men, and obviously, her being a woman meant she had to be masculine enough to get better at her sports.

The interviewer, Nauman Ijaz asked everyone present what occupation they would’ve had if not this one, to which Dar said she would have still been in a professional setting, on which a comedian present “joked” that she seemed to be allergic to getting married.

Dar handled these sexist remarks very gracefully and way better than most, and replied to Abdul Razaq’s comments by saying, “Our profession is such that we have to do batting, bowling and every other thing [that the sport requires] which needs fitness, so yes your body does become hard.”

This isn’t the first time male cricketers have made sexist remarks. In 2017, cricket and former coach Waqar Younis was called out for ‘suggesting’ on Twitter that the Women’s World Cup matches should only have 30 overs as the standard 50 were “a few too many”.

Dar has received international appreciation and recognition for her achievements in cricket. She is the first Pakistani cricketer to cross 100 wickets in the T20 format. According to the ICC, she is only the sixth cricketer overall to achieve this milestone.

Your physical appearance does not determine your femininity or the kind of cricket you play, your skills do that and it is safe to say that Nida Dar is a trailblazer and talented cricketer, and we value women cricketers for being the stars they are.