Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2014-02-11

The selection of a Muslim cricketer to the England cricket squad has sparked racist comments targeting the gifted player for being a practicing Muslim.

Moeen Ali (26) who sports the sunnah beard was selected last year for the England Cricket team for the limited-overs series in West Indies and the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.

Despite Ali’s talent, supporters have been scathing, posting racist derogatory comments on the social networking site Facebook that was deemed very hurtful.

“Nasty facial hair…. Osama Bin Laden successor daaaaamn,” one wrote on BBC Sport Facebook page referring to Moeen’s beard, London Evening Standard reported.

“Osama bin laden is back,” wrote another.

However the England national selector James Whitaker had praise for Ali.

"It's an exciting opportunity for Moeen and Stephen," said Whitaker.

"We would like to congratulate Moeen and Stephen on their selection for the tour to the Caribbean and then to represent England in the ICC World Twenty20,” he added.

Whitaker has also praised the player, who was named ‘Player of the Year’ by the Professional Cricketers' Association last October.

”Moeen has been a very consistent performer for Worcestershire and the club and their coaching staff must take credit for his continued progress.”

Yet, the decision was criticized by cricket fans, who assumed that Moeen, who was born in Birmingham, was 'foreign' and questioned whether England should select a non-English player.

“One foreigner replacing another…,” one of the BBC Sport FB page wrote.

“England seriously needs to develop their own talent now and stop relying on foreign players,” wrote another.

The comments sparked a debate with many condemning the remarks as ignorant.

“If you think the English cricket team should be made up of entirely white people, then the Australian cricket team should be made up purely of Aborigines,” one wrote.

“Comments on here speak volumes about the undercurrent of racism in the UK. Scary really,” another added.

Britain is home to a Muslim community of nearly 2.7 million. – Agencies

 (Twitter: @Faizie143)