Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi face off during an India vs Pakistan match in Kanpur (File Photo/AP)
Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir continued his war of words with Shahid Afridi on Saturday, calling him a ‘liar’, ‘traitor’ and an ‘opportunist’.
Someone who doesn’t remember his age how will he remember my records!OK @SAfridiOfficial let me remind u one: 2007 T20 WC final, Ind Vs Pak Gambhir 75 off 54 balls Vs Afridi 0 off 1 ball. Most imp: We won the Cup. And yes, I’ve attitude towards liars, traitors & opportunists.
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) April 18, 2020
“Someone who doesn’t remember his age how will he remember my records!OK Shahid Afridi, let me remind u one: 2007 T20 WC final, Ind Vs Pak Gambhir 75 off 54 balls Vs Afridi 0 off 1 ball. Most imp: We won the Cup. And yes, I’ve attitude towards liars, traitors & opportunists,” Gambhir’s tweet said.
Gambhir’s reaction seems to stem from how Afridi describes him in one particular passage in his memoir, where he said Gambhir had an ‘attitude problem’ without having any great records.
“(Gautam Gambhir) 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. He, who behaves like he’s a cross between Don Bradman and James Bond,” Afridi wrote.
Shahid Afridi talks of how he used to be great friends with many Indian cricketers like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Ajay Jadeja. On the changed atmosphere these days, Afridi says, ‘Kohli, Sehwag and Co. clearly don’t get that.’https://t.co/xsgV34kLuT
— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) April 18, 2020
On Saturday, Gambhir pointed to one record he does enjoy over Afridi – their individual performances in the 2007 T20 World Cup final, which India had won under MS Dhoni’s captaincy.
Gambhir also took a jibe at Afridi over his age – a long-standing mystery which had also been finally cleared through Afridi’s book last year.
Even though it was Irfan Pathan who had been named Man of the Match in the 2007 final, it had been Gambhir’s 75 at the top of the order which had taken India to a commanding total, before Misbah ul Haq was undone by Joginder Sharma in a last-over face-off.
Gambhir had lashed out at Afridi when the book had been published last year as well, saying in a sarcastic tweet then that he would take him to a psychiatrist. “I am sure he will sell his book better. Shahid afridi is 16 mentally,” he had said then.