After Zimbabwe's win against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 match on Thursday, Zimbabwe's President, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, congratulated his national cricket team on Twitter along with taking a jibe at Pakistan. After the win, Emmerson tweeted, “What a win for Zimbabwe! Congratulations to the Chevrons. Next time, send the real Mr Bean.” Soon after the tweet was posted it became viral on social media.
Asif Muhammad, a Pakistani comedian who poses as the popular character, ‘Mr Bean’, has been in the news before the match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe. It all started when a cricket fan took to social media and said Zimbabwe would seek revenge for an episode from 2016 where locals in Harare paid Asif to come and perform in a show in the country. According to sources, the show didn’t pan out well. The artiste had no solo set and appeared alongside local musicians, delivering a below-average performance. In some viral photos, Asif can be seen waving at people on the streets of Harare while being surrounded by security officials.
Later, Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Shariff took to Twitter to respond to Emmerson's tweet, saying, “We may not have the real Mr Bean, but we have real cricketing spirit .. and we Pakistanis have a funny habit of bouncing back. Mr President: Congratulations. Your team played really well today.”
Reports said that following Pakistan's defeat against Zimbabwe in the ICC T20 World Cup, former cricketers from the country slammed the team management, PCB chairman for poor performance and also questioned the selectors for the choice of players for the game. This was Pakistan's second defeat in two games and their road to the semifinal has become difficult now.