Pakistani-American actor Kumail Nanjiani recently appeared on the Backward Point Cricket podcast where he spoke about Pakistan cricket, pop culture, Karachi food and different aspects of his life.
During the conversation, he was asked about the “Rizbar” pairing of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in T20 cricket.
“I don’t think Babar should be in T20. I think we ruined his game by forcing him into T20. He looks like a different player now. It’s really a shame. I can’t think of a talent we’ve squandered more,” he said.
The discussion then shifted to Pakistan’s pop culture. When asked if he knew actor Hania Aamir, Nanjiani replied, “Music? [is she related to music]” before adding, “No, no,” prompting the host to remark, “This is great content by the way.”
He was then asked about Talha Anjum, whom Nanjiani said he did not know either.
“I don’t follow Pakistani media. I’m not big into music at all. I grew up without music. So, there really isn’t any music in my life,” he explained.
The host then asked if he knew Atif Aslam, to which Nanjiani said, “No, who is Atif Aslam? Is he a musician?”
When the host asked if he had never listened to ‘Aadat’, Nanjiani replied, “No, I don’t listen to music. I don’t even listen to American music.”
Speaking about visiting Pakistan, he said he has been a little scared to go back. When asked why, Nanjiani said, “I don’t know. Just being sort of a little bit known, you know. I’m just afraid of being targeted or something.”
On cricket, Nanjiani named Wasim Akram as his all-time favourite.
When asked about a possible biopic, he said, “Now this is controversial but I think an Imran Khan biopic would be really really fascinating because obviously he’s the most celebrated Pakistani of all time.”
He also said current Pakistani players lack the killer instinct like Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar.
Referring to a recent moment involving Salman Ali Agha in the Bangladesh series, he said that Salman was “too nice”.
He also said he doesn’t like players tying the opposing team’s shoelaces.
“I don’t like it when they tie the batsman’s shoelaces. Like no, take your fu**king gloves off. Yeah. No, tie your own shoelaces. I don’t want them to be like I think there’s a balance. I think you have to be a competitor. You have to respect the people, but you have to be a competitor,” he said.
Nanjiani is best known for co-writing and starring in The Big Sick, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. He rose to wider fame with the HBO series Silicon Valley and later appeared in Marvel’s Eternals.
