Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has slammed ex-Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi after the latter said that he will soon visit the Line of Control (LoC) to "express solidarity with our Kashmiri brethren" following the government's decision to abrogate Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
After Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced that a 30-minute event will take place every week in his country to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people, Afridi jumped in to support the call and said that he would be at Mazar-e-Quaid (the tomb of Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah) in Karachi at 12 noon on Friday.
"Let's respond to PM call for Kashmir Hour as a nation. I will be at Mazar e Quaid at 12 pm on Friday. Join me to express solidarity with our Kashmiri brethren. On 6 Sep I will visit home of a Shaheed. I will soon be visiting LoC (sic)," Afridi tweeted.
Cricketer-turned-politician Gambhir took to Twitter and said: "Guys, in this picture Shahid Afridi is asking Shahid Afridi that what should Shahid Afridi do next to embarrass Shahid Afridi so that's it's proven beyond all doubts that Shahid Afridi has refused to mature!!! Am ordering online kindergarten tutorials for help."
The former Pakistan cricketer Afridi then responded saying, “Change of weather in Karachi, rain in the air. Also each time Gautam tries to make himself relevant, I am reminded of this...,” with a photo of a quote by former Indian mental condition coach Paddy Upton.
The quote by Upton read, ‘Gautam Gambhir was one of the weakest and mentally most insecure people I have worked with’.
When asked to comment on their spat on Twitter, Gambhir told ANI, “Some people never grow up. They don’t even grow up after they stop playing cricket. With age, the brain also doesn’t grow. If he (Shahid Afridi) is so fond of politicising everything, why doesn’t he join politics? But even in politics, we need people with brains, and that he doesn’t have."
Afridi had earlier called for intervention by the United Nations and the US after the revocation of Article 370.
Former Pakistan skipper Javed Miandad had also said that he will visit the LoC with other sportspersons who were willing to join him. Miandad said that he will hoist a flag for peace at the LoC.
On Tuesday, British boxer of Pakistani origin, Amir Khan, visited the LoC and met the families living there. The Pakistan Army had arranged the tour for the boxer.
Gambhir and Afridi have clashed several times off the field and this isn't the first time that the two have locked horns on the Kashmir issue.
Earlier this month, Afridi tweeted about "unprovoked aggression" by India and "crimes against humanity" in Kashmir following which Gambhir replied that the former all-rounder "was spot on" and should be "lauded" for highlighting it, but he had forgotten to mention that all the atrocities were taking place in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
(With inputs from IANS)
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