Shahid Afridi reacts to Gautam Gambhir’s ‘Dosti Bahar Rehni Chahiye’ comment
India – Pakistan matches have become more competitive of late starting from the 2021 T20 World Cup in UAE where Pakistan beat India for the first time in World Cup. The competitive nature of the contest continued in the next T20 World Cup encounter between the arch-rivals in Australia where Virat Kohli played the innings of a lifetime to take India over the line. The same trend was followed in the last meeting between the two sides in the Asia Cup. It was a game of two halves where the first 15 overs went Pakistan’s way as fast bowler Shaheen Afridi ripped through the Indian top order to reduce the Men in Blue to 66-4.
But that was the last moment of joy for the Green Army as the duo of Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya took India to safety by stitching a much-needed partnership for the fifth wicket which propelled India to a competitive score of 266 after which rain played spoilsport and the match was called off.
Gambhir Speaks
Apart from Indo-Pak games being more competitive another thing that has changed is the friendliness among the players of the two countries. In recent times we have seen players greeting each other with respect and sharing a laugh with each other. Reacting to it former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir said “When you play on the field for your national team, you must leave the friendship outside the boundary ropes. Game face hona zaroori hai. Dosti bahaar rehni chahiye. There has to be an aggression in the eyes of both sets of players.”
Afridi Reacts
Now former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi has responded to Gambhir’s comment “That is his thought. I think differently. We are cricketers and ambassadors as well, we all have fans across the globe. So it is better to send out a message of love and respect. Yes there is aggression on the field, but there is life off the field as well,” Afridi told Pakistan media on Wednesday.
India will take on Pakistan again in the Super Four stage of the tournament on September 10
