Waqar Younis called out for 'sexist' remark regarding Women's World Cup

E-Paper | March 10, 2026

Waqar Younis, Pakistani bowling legend and former coach for the men's cricket team, was taken to task by Australian batswoman Alyssa Healy after carelessly 'suggesting' on Twitter that Women's World Cup matches should have only 30 overs as the standard 50 were "a few too many".

Younis tweeted: "@ICC What about having 30 over [matches in] Cricket World Cup for Women??? Like Tennis [has] 3 sets rather then 5 [for women] #Suggestion I feel 50 overs are [a] few too many #WWCUP17."

The tweet got a mixed response, with some users agreeing with him and others calling Younis out on his 'suggestion'.

Looking to control the damage from his first tweet, Younis tried to clarify his comment saying his "suggestion" was for the good of the game:

"Lesser overs mean faster pace, more audience, competitive cricket, no discrimination or prejudice toward women #AlwaysRespectWomen #WWCUP17"

Healy came swinging at Younis, replying to his tweet saying:

"Haha so what you're saying is that 530 runs in a 50 over game isn't entertaining?! With two of the best innings anyone has seen..."

She was referring to Australia's win over Sri Lanka in Bristol. In the match, Sri Lankan Chamari Atapattu hit an unbeaten 178, which Australia's Meg Lanning followed with 152 not out as her side successfully chased down 9-257.

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Solomon the king

Jul 05, 2017 02:19pm

he is right, those who find his remark sexism should look at the coverage the women world cup gets by the electronic media. We never heard of any thing like 'Game On Hye' in Pakistan by Pakistan Tele Channel. On the lighter side: Pakistani Prime Minister has announced Rs 1 billion for each player of pakistan women cricket team

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Khawaja

Jul 05, 2017 02:20pm

I believe Younis comments are fair and not sexist.

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rajiv

Jul 05, 2017 02:23pm

I think 30 overs a side in this era will be good for both men and women as time is nowadays constraint for every one. 50 overs a side is too long and gets boring.. 30 overs would be more entertaining. What is wrong in trying. It would be more level playing for both side from pith point of view as well.

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sal

Jul 05, 2017 02:24pm

For once I agree with Waqar!

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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad

Jul 05, 2017 02:30pm

He just gave his honest opinion which is to some extent, 100 percent right. Why to make it a "gender" issue instead?

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Ali

Jul 05, 2017 02:32pm

These days whatever you say become sexist comment.

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Bikram

Jul 05, 2017 02:33pm

Younis is quite right. I see nothing sexist in his tweet.

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Arnold w bush

Jul 05, 2017 02:40pm

So, marketing and money win. Entertaining cricket is more important than good cricket. Everyone's in a hurry. Every good thing comes with patience and persistence. Wake up, people.

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citizen

Jul 05, 2017 02:42pm

Fully agree with Mr. Waqar.

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Zaheer Asghar

Jul 05, 2017 02:53pm

There is nothing wrong in his statement!

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Sane

Jul 05, 2017 03:05pm

Total agree with Waqar... why the dawn included the word' sexisit' in title is beyond logic.

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Riz

Jul 05, 2017 03:08pm

Good suggestion by waqar to icc

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Owais

Jul 05, 2017 03:15pm

if his remarks are sexism then what tennis federation and the world of sports is doing there. one needs to be realistic and practicle.

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SAB

Jul 05, 2017 03:17pm

Younis is right.

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common & immaterial

Jul 05, 2017 03:43pm

@Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad... Agreeing with you probably for first time. on one hand these people talk about freedom of speech & on other hand such hypocrisy when a legend is suggesting something good which may benefit Women cricket. Rather I would go to an extent of reducing ground size & pitch length if we want women cricket to prosper. Many time I try to watch their games but always find it boring for the fact that it lacks intensity that we're used to while watching Men's cricket

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Ahmed

Jul 05, 2017 03:58pm

Waqar has given a very genuine suggestion and ICC should seriously consider it.

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Sherlock Holmes

Jul 05, 2017 04:19pm

Smaller grounds should also help

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Wajih Qidwai

Jul 05, 2017 04:28pm

it will make the game more interesting. A nice thought from Waqar

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dost

Jul 05, 2017 04:28pm

what's wrong in his statement, simply a good advise to promote and make game more popular. nothing to read too much negative in his statement

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Asad

Jul 05, 2017 04:34pm

Fair comments!!! If every comment involving woman is sexism then man and woman cricket should not be treated separately. Anyone (be a man or a woman) should compete for a place in a cricket team.

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Saad

Jul 05, 2017 04:36pm

Media should stop selling sexism.

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Zubair

Jul 05, 2017 04:59pm

I think Waqar made the remark with good intentions and did not have any sexist angle. @Alyssa, to be fair, 530 runs were scored in 100 overs (not 50 as could be mis-understood from your tweet :) )

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Ranga

Jul 05, 2017 05:26pm

Found nothing wrong in what Waqar has said. He has pointed out that in tennis also there is a similar arrangement. Absolutely nothing worng sir.

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Jul 05, 2017 05:35pm

Agree with Waqar.

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Kashif Abbasi

Jul 05, 2017 05:41pm

What about the people running the show now discussing a 4 day test match. Waqar is right!

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Tango Tango

Jul 05, 2017 06:29pm

He is allowed to have an opinion. Too much political correctness and over sensitivity to difference of opinion will suffocate creative thought. If tennis and golf tournements, can have different benchmarks for men and women then whats wrong if he suggested a similar approach to cricket.

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SKP

Jul 05, 2017 06:32pm

Few facts.. 1. 444 is the highest score by a men's team in a 50 over game (ENG vs PAK). 455 is the highest score by a women's team in a 50 over match (NZ vs PAK). 2. Sachin Tendulkar scored first ever men's double century in 50 over game in 2010. Belinda Clark scored double century in 1997. 3. Belinda Clark's score of 229 scored in 1997 was beaten by Rohit Sharma (264) in 2014. 17 years later!!! Still you think women's cricket is slow and not entertaining. Or you think they don't have physical strength to play 50 over game with full pace. If not, why this suggestion was not given to men's cricket. Why all this only for women's cricket.

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Akram

Jul 05, 2017 06:34pm

although I would be the first to criticise sexism, I don't think what Waqar said was sexist at all. I thought it was a very fair statement, which has been taken out of context.

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Haroon cma

Jul 05, 2017 07:15pm

I agree with Yunus on this one. 30 Over would be definitely faster paced, would draw more audience, and better coverage on all sort of medias.

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sameer

Jul 05, 2017 07:54pm

two of the best innings anyone has seen.... correct. Except noone really saw it or cared they happened.

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WASEB

Jul 05, 2017 07:56pm

The dashing man has said nothing sexist until one tries to intentionally put it like that.

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Lohpurush

Jul 05, 2017 08:58pm

Waqar is right.let's not oppose for the sake of opposition

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Ammar

Jul 05, 2017 09:52pm

Agree with Waqar

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Salman

Jul 05, 2017 09:54pm

There is nothing wrong with his comments, this is just his point of view, he is a gentleman.

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ATIF KHAN

Jul 05, 2017 10:13pm

women cricket is extremly boring, they even have to shorten boundaries so they can hit boundaries. The way they play, it make me think even gully cricket team play better

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Hijazi

Jul 05, 2017 10:19pm

Waqar's comment is a normal one, similar comments lead to T20-20. Such suggestions should be appreciated even if not accepted.

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alba

Jul 05, 2017 10:44pm

Was he wrong? How can this be translated into a sexist remark? Woman are not as strong as men physically.

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Vicky

Jul 05, 2017 10:46pm

Well i would say there is already 20 overs format,,, so 30 overs does not make much sense. At least there should be 40 overs a side to maitain the difference between the two formats

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KARAN Bhatt

Jul 05, 2017 10:52pm

Waqar is right. Infact I'd also suggest that the pitch be reduced by a couple of yards.

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Fawzia H

Jul 05, 2017 10:53pm

I don't think his remarks are sexist, I think they are thoughtful.

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Cricket Fan

Jul 05, 2017 10:59pm

This is Political Correctness gone amok. I have been watching the WWC matches and the quality there is far lower than the men's games. Physical fitness required to grind out 50 overs in the field is lacking even in the highest rated teams. There is no harm in following WY's suggestion. Once the game becomes popular among girls, there will be more competition and the quality will improve. Right now, it seems like any female with a pulse is allowed to play for their national team.

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k k tiwari

Jul 05, 2017 11:13pm

Why insult women? First improve men's ranking which is 8th

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Talha Rafeeq

Jul 05, 2017 11:18pm

Nothing sexist in that, 30 overs would be far more entertaining.

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M.Saeed

Jul 06, 2017 12:26am

When power games like shotput and hammer throw have lighter weights for ladies to throw, then why not smaller cricket parameters?

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Pakistani

Jul 06, 2017 01:45am

here we go, if u want to understand his comments watch the WWC live, for start no fee to enter stadium but still no one is watching and when watching on tv its so boring that you turn to golf. so sick of there women that think their life purpose is to compete with men if she think she is man then let have a game between men and women to see who is better and what he is trying to say

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Ayesha

Jul 06, 2017 01:57am

@Khawaja , if his comment is not sexist, then why not recommending the same (30 overs match) for men's team?

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Chauhan

Jul 06, 2017 04:47am

hahahha....whatever suggestions for women would be in the category of sexism if given by men.lol another big news for cheap media.

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kerala

Jul 06, 2017 07:44am

@SKP Finally some sane words among this entire comments section. Women should get equal opportunities as that of men. Women don't need sympathy from men . In the name of "caring and protection " women are being marginalised...by the society. Empower women by support and not by reducing the set standards in cricket.

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option

Jul 06, 2017 09:05am

Whats so sexist about Waqar's comments? Even Healy's response did not suggest that it was sexist!

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Zahid

Jul 06, 2017 09:14am

We already have T20, ODI that's 50 overs and Test matches. Do we now need a T30? Irrespective of women or men, it creates more confusion. Bad suggestion by Waqar.

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Rashis

Jul 06, 2017 10:43am

@k k tiwari please see the table and then tweet about rankings,

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Rashis

Jul 06, 2017 10:44am

OK tiwari you are too upset that 8th rank Pakistan have beaten you and now they are 6th for your info

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Rashis

Jul 06, 2017 10:46am

@k k tiwari see table fist