Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh's “sexist” remarks against Virat Kohli's actress wife, Anushka Sharma, were met with a backlash on social media, with netizens bashing him for his “disgraceful” comments.

While commenting on the Cricket World Cup final between India and Australia on Sunday, Harbhajan Singh raised questions about Anushka Sharma and KL Rahul's wife Athiya Shetty's knowledge about cricket.

“This is what I was thinking if they are talking about cricket or films. Because I don't know how much they understand cricket,” Harbhajan Singh told a fellow commentator as television cameras showed Anushka Sharma and Athiya Shetty chatting in the stands.

However, Harbhajan Singh's statement about Anushka Sharma and Athiya Shetty's cricketing knowledge didn't go well with Team India's supporters as they reckoned that the 2011 World Cup winner's comments were “sexist” and “misogynistic” in nature.

“Harbhajan Singh needs to think before he speaks. What the hell do you mean by saying that Anushka and Athiya will be talking about movies and not about cricket because they have little understanding of the game. Their spouses play cricket so why won't they have the knowledge?”, a Team India fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Harbhajan Singh is a graceless sexist lout for attacking Anushka Sharma & Athiya Shetty. You have to be blind, blinkered & prejudiced not to see the beautiful relationship Virat & Anushka share. He's lucky to have such a supportive partner,” another added.

“Harbhajan commenting about Anushka and Athiya about not having enough knowledge of cricket and portraying them as gossip mongers. Who knows how much Geeta Basra knows about cricket? Disgraceful,” a third commented.

“Not only does Harbhajan Singh cry about his ex-teammate on Twitter 24 into 7, he also sits and passes extremely misogynistic comments, today about Anushka and Athiya Shetty, during his commentary stint. Never seen a more shameless man. Pathetic,” a fourth elaborated.

“It feels bad that India lost – but politicizing a simple game is the biggest curse of all. Win or lose the sportsmen should just be sportsmen. Do not make them Bollywood stars or political party stooges. Harbhajan writing a sexist comment about Anushka and Shetty is below the belt. Why is it always the woman made fun of when men get frustrated? Harbhajan Singh, please take your comment back. Fielding was very tight. Good play by Australia! Congrats on your win,” a fifth stated.

Meanwhile, the legendary Sunil Gavaskar ripped into Rohit Sharma after his “greedy” mistake cost India dearly, eventually leading to their defeat against Australia in the Cricket World Cup final in Ahmedabad.

After Australian skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to field first, the Indian team got off to a flier, thanks to Rohit Sharma's ultra-aggressive approach at the top of the order.

As the 36-year-old has done throughout the World Cup, Rohit Sharma smoked sixes and boundaries at will against Australia, taking the likes of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc apart during his short but impressive knock of 47 off 31 balls.

At 1/76 and Rohit Sharma firing on all cylinders, the crowd inside the Narendra Modi Stadium was excited as India looked in complete command of the proceedings on the field.

As the Indians were running away with the match on the back of Rohit Sharma's explosive batting, a moment of brilliance turned the tide in Australia's favor.

The head-turning moment came in the 10th over, bowled by Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell. After Rohit Sharma took him on, smashing a six and a four off Glenn Maxwell, the India captain tried to hit another maximum.

But on this occasion, Rohit Sharma could only get an outside edge of the bat on the ball before Travis Head grabbed a brilliant catch, getting rid of Rohit Sharma for 47.

Once Rohit Sharma perished, Australian bowlers tightened the screws on a dry Ahmedabad pitch, choking the flow of runs for the Indians.

Except for Virat Kohli, who made 54 off 63 balls, no other Indian batter got going with boundaries becoming a rare commodity.

KL Rahul did try to stem the tide in India's favor but continued to struggle throughout his knock of 66 off 107 balls, perhaps contributing to the home team's eventual score of 240 in their allocated 50 overs.

Chasing a paltry 240 to claim a record-extending sixth World Cup title, the Australians found themselves in a deep hole at 47/3 with Steve Smith, David Warner, and Mitch Marsh back in the hut.

However, then came the match-winning 192-run partnership between Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, with the former proving extremely dangerous as he took the match away from India's reach with a sensational 137 off 120 balls.

Subsequently, Glenn Maxwell hit the World Cup-winning runs for Australia as the Kangaroos secured another victory in an ICC event, leaving India captain Rohit Sharma in tears and their millions of fans in a sea of sadness.

With India's loss “hurting” everyone, including Sunil Gavaskar, the 1983 World Cup winner criticized Rohit Sharma for not curbing his aggressive instinct.

“Travis Head's superlative turning and running back catch dashed India's hopes of getting a 300-plus score. That catch dismissed Rohit Sharma, who once again stormed his way to another quickfire 40-plus. That wicket fell in the final over of the first Powerplay where there are only two fielders allowed outside the 30-metre circle. He had already hit a six and a four in the over and was obviously trying to capitalise on the few deliveries left before the Powerplay finished. Was he being too greedy? Could he not have curbed himself since Shubman Gill had already been dismissed?”, Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his Sportstar column.

“The fifth bowler's quota for Australia was always a bit of a lottery, and this time, it worked as it not only got the crucial wicket of the Indian captain but also made the other India batters play the non-regular bowlers even more carefully, and thereby lose out on perhaps 30 runs at least. Whether those runs would have made the difference is debatable,” the ex-India captain noted.

“That said, the Australians fully deserved their win, for they came back to claim their sixth World Cup trophy after a stuttering start in the tournament. They were superbly led in the finals, with Pat Cummins taking a bold decision to field first despite winning the toss. The Australians didn't give anything away on the field, and that ‘Head catch' typified the Aussie attitude that day. Head then batted with a great mix of watchfulness and calculated assault to take Australia home in the company of the calm, unruffled Marnus Labuschagne,” the 1983 World Cup winner reckoned.

“There will be plenty of post-mortems about the final, but every genuine Indian cricket lover should be very proud of this Indian team. To win 10 successive matches is something very few teams have achieved. Those wins were also the most convincing and comprehensive victories, which is why the expectations were so high for the finals,” Sunil Gavaskar continued.

“Whatever the perennial carpers might say, this was a spectacular tournament, and the crowds had a great time. The BCCI, the favourite whipping boy of the media of the ‘old powers’, got its fair share of stick. Most of it was silly, like the criticism of stadiums not being totally full, forgetting that a stadium of 80,000 or more with 40,000 people is more than any stadium in their country. Also, for every game the home team played, the grounds were packed to capacity, with not a seat available. So, that was a silly argument,” he signed off.