Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has been in the news since his autobiography "Game Changer" released. Be it his views on Kashmir or the revelation of his real age, Afridi has created quite a stir.
In his autobiography, Afridi has also slammed Gautam Gambhir, saying the former Indian opener lacked personality and has an attitude problem.
“Some rivalries were personal, some professional. First the curious case of Gambhir. Oh poor Gautam. He and his attitude problem. He (Gautam) 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.”Shahid Afridi wrote in his book
"In Karachi we call guys like him saryal (burnt up). Its 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," he adds.
Gambhir and Afridi didn't have a cordial relationship, both off and on the field. In 2007, the duo was booked for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct following a clash during an ODI match between India and Pakistan in Kanpur.
Speaking about the incident, Afridi said, "I remember the run-in with Gambhir during the 2007 Asia Cup, 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 relatives."
On Saturday, Gambhir, who has now joined politics and is in fray in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, hit back at Afridi, saying the former Pakistan cricketer is a hilarious man who needs to be taken to a psychiatrist.
"Shahid Afridi you are a hilarious man!!! Anyway, we are still granting visas to Pakistanis for medical tourism. I will personally take you to a psychiatrist," Gambhir tweeted.
Afridi was ready with his reply during his official book launch.
“He (Gambhir) has a mental problem and if he wants I can get him treated at my hospital. If he faces any visa problem I will get it processed quickly for him.”Shahid Afridi on Twitter
The duo never shared a great rapport on and off the field and it was reflected in Afridi's take on Gambhir in the book.
The two had an angry bust up during a bilateral series ODI in Kanpur back in 2007 (wrongly referred in Afridi's book as Asia Cup game).
"I remember the run-in with Gambhir during the 2007 Asia Cup, 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 relatives," Afridi recalled the uncharitable verbal exchange.
Afridi has recently agreed that he had indulged in age-fraud and was 21 years old when he scored his hundred debut and not 16 as it was believed for a lot of years.
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