The build-up to an India–Pakistan clash is never short on drama, and this year’s Asia Cup encounter at the Dubai International Stadium is no exception. With political tensions still raw following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, the game itself has been surrounded by questions over whether it should go ahead at all.
Badmouth Shahid Afridi is back
Into this charged atmosphere has stepped former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, who has once again found a way to provoke Indian fans and players. Afridi’s comments this week spurred up the fallout from the abandoned India–Pakistan fixture in the 2025 World Championship of Legends (WCL).
That match, scheduled to be played in July at Edgbaston, was called off after several Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan, pulled out in the wake of widespread outrage over playing Pakistan so soon after the Pahalgam terror attack. The organisers eventually cancelled the marquee clash.
“I have always said that cricket should go on; it has always helped in making the relations better between the two countries. In England, people had bought tickets to see the WCL match, and the players had practised. Then you didn’t play. What was the thinking? I just can’t understand,” Afridi said on Samaa TV, before once again hinting that some of India’s former cricketers acted with ulterior motives.
“Agar mai naam lunga na iss waqt, toh wo beechare phass jayenge. The player I referred to as a bad egg, his captain also told him, ‘If you don’t want to play, then don’t play. Just don’t tweet on social media. But that said, the player had come with an ulterior motive. That is why he was a bad egg,” Afridi remarked, reviving his old dig at Shikhar Dhawan without naming him directly.
The former Pakistan all-rounder didn’t stop there. In another sharp jab, Afridi claimed some ex-India internationals are still trying too hard to prove their identity. “There are plenty of issues. Gharon tak paunch jaate hain, ghar jalaane ki dhamkiyaan dete hain un players ko. Kuch aise hain jo vahan saabit kar rahe hain ki hum Hindustaani hain. Bechaare jabse paida huye hain saabit kar rahe hain hum Hindustani hain. Now they are doing commentary in the Asia Cup,” he said.
