Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has been at loggerheads with former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi on several issues. Be it on the cricket field or social media, and the duo doesn’t get along at all.
Gambhir was recently asked about his tense relations with Afridi, and the cricketer-turned-politician said that it grew into a personal rivalry between the two.
Speaking in an interview to Indian Express, the Delhi lad said, “Some fights do get personal, and there is nothing wrong with that. It has been like that for a very long time. Sometimes it is nice to get personal with someone.”
Gambhir, who represented India in 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is, further said that he enjoyed good relations with some Pakistan cricketers, but never had one with Afridi during his cricketing days.
“I have had decent relationships with Pakistani players, off the field, but not with Shahid Afridi. So that is the reason we got personal,” he said.
Gauti also took a sly dig at Afridi, saying that the former Pakistani cricketer “will never write”. The 37-year-old added that he is okay with having a sour relationship with Afridi.
“Now obviously he doesn’t play, but you never know, he might just make a comeback. He will never retire. There is a bit of history to that (the relationship with Afridi), I am fine with that.”
The Gambhir-Afridi rivalry began during Pakistan’s tour of India in 2007. In the third ODI at Green Park stadium in Kanpur, Gambhir had a verbal spat with Afridi while batting. The southpaw, who was struggling a bit to score runs, tried to irritate the opponent bowler and the duo had an exchange of words. It turned worse when Gautam Gambhir collided with Shahid Afridi leaving the Pakistani camp furious.
