Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has hit back at Gautam Gambhir over his comments that India should not play Pakistan in the World Cup. Afridi, who was asked to respond to Gambhir’s remarks, called the former India opener ‘bewakoof’ (fool) and asked if what he said was sensible.
“Does this look like something which a sensible person would say? Do educated people talk like this?” Afridi said while responding to a question from a reporter.
Gambhir has been quite vocal about cutting sporting ties with Pakistan following the Pulwama attack. He had said that the Indian team should honour the lives of soldiers who were killed in the attack and not play Pakistan even if they met in the final of the World Cup.
At a press conference, a reporter asked Afridi his thoughts about Gambhir’s comments that India should not pay Pakistan even if it meant losing two points or meeting in the crucial stages of the tournament. Afridi lashed out asking if the ex-India player used his wits while talking about the situation.
Gambhir recently stood for the Lok Sabha elections from East Delhi constituency and won on a BJP ticket. The cricketer-turned-politician had asked BCCI to take a stand against cricketing ties with Pakistan after the outrage over the Pulwama attacks in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. He said Team India needed to stop playing Pakistan in ICC tournaments, including the World Cup.
This is not the first time that Gambhir and Afridi have had a war of words off the field. The cricketers, both retired from international cricket, recently took digs at each other when the former Pakistan all-rounder referred to Gambhir someone who “behaves like a cross between Don Bradman and James Bond”, and has a “lot of attitude and no great records”. Gambhir in return had said that 39-year-old Afridi behaves like a 16-year-old mentally and even suggested psychiatric treatment to him.
