Gautam Gambhir reply to Shahid Afridi

It isn’t often that one sees two athletes take their rivalry well into their retirement. In sports, usually, players have run-ins in the heat of the moment, sometimes even more than once, but that animosity is rarely carried forward, at least in the public domain, once they end their careers. That, however, has not been the case with Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi.

It all started during a One-Day International between India and Pakistan in Kanpur in 2007. Gambhir, who is now an MP of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was running down the pitch to complete a run when he collided with Afridi and the two got into a heated argument. Whether Afridi deliberately got in Gambhir’s way or the latter intentionally ran into him is anybody’s guess. But that moment didn’t go unnoticed since it wasn’t common to see Indian and Pakistani players have a go at each other in such an aggressive manner.

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While that was the end of it in terms of their on-field clashes, partly due to the fact that India stopped playing bilateral cricket with Pakistan, the two began throwing punches at each other on social media and other public platforms once they bid adieu to the game.

In his autobiography Game Changer, Afridi shared his views on the clash he had with Gambhir in 2007. Afridi wrote,

“I remember the run-in with Gambhir during the 2007 Asia Cup [incorrect information] when he completed his single while running straight into me. The umpires had to finish it off or I would have. Clearly, we had a frank bilateral discussion about each other’s female relative.”

Afridi then goes on to take personal digs at Gambhir, writing that he has an attitude problem. He wrote,

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“Some rivalries were personal, some professional. First the curious case of Gambhir. Oh, poor Gautam. He and his attitude problem. He who has no personality. He who is barely a character in the great scheme of cricket. He who has no great records just a lot of attitude. Gambhir behaves like he’s a cross between Don Bradman and James Bond. In Karachi, we call guys like him saryal [burnt up]. It’s simple, I like happy, positive people. Doesn’t matter if they are aggressive or competitive, but you have to be positive and Gambhir wasn’t.”

Not known to pull back punches, BJP MP and retired cricketer Gautam Gambhir hit back at Shahid Afridi, after former Pakistan skipper questioned India cricketer’s frivolous attitude in his autobiography. Gambhir took to Twitter and wrote,

“Someone who doesn’t remember his age how will he remember my records! ok. Shahid Afridi let me remind you one: 2007 T20 WC final, Ind vs Pak Gambhir 75 off 54 balls vs Afridi 0 off 1 ball. Most important: We won the Cup. And yes, I’ve attitude towards liars, traitors & opportunists”

Below is Gambhir’s tweet,

This is not the first time Gambhir has reacted to Afridi’s remarks about him. Last year when Afridi’s autobiography was released Gambhir had aslo shared few words on Twitter.

Their war of words over the controversial passage in Afridi’s book isn’t the only chapter in their feud. The duo has been involved in a number of other spats on social media as well.

Last year, Afridi shared his views on Kashmir and Gambhir hit him back that time too.

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