India and Pakistan might be arch-rivals on the cricket ground, but off it they generally get along well. Unless it's Shahid Afridi and Gautam Gambhir.
The intense rivalry between the two came to the fore again when the Indian opener trolled the Pakistani all-rounder for the latter's tweet on the “Appalling and worrisome situation ongoing in the Indian Occupied Kashmir”.
Afridi urged the United Nations to step in and stop the killing of “innocents” and wondered aloud why “aren't they making efforts to stop this bloodshed”. His tweet comes barely a couple of days after 13 terrorists were killed at different places in the Valley.
Appalling and worrisome situation ongoing in the Indian Occupied Kashmir.Innocents being shot down by oppressive regime to clamp voice of self determination & independence. Wonder where is the @UN & other int bodies & why aren't they making efforts to stop this bloodshed?
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) April 3, 2018
Responding to Afridi's tweet, the southpaw, who wears his patriotism on his tweet-happy fingertips, dismissed him saying the UN stands for “UNDER NINETEEN” in his “retarded dictionary”.
Media called me for reaction on @SAfridiOfficial tweet on OUR Kashmir & @UN. What’s there to say? Afridi is only looking for @UN which in his retarded dictionary means “UNDER NINTEEN” his age bracket. Media can relax, @SAfridiOfficial is celebrating a dismissal off a no- ball!!!
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) April 3, 2018
Several Twitter users, too, slammed Afridi for calling Kashmir “Indian Occupied Kashmir” and terming the dead “innocents”.
The two had a heated on-field exchange during the third ODI between the two teams in Kanpur in 2007. Afridi later wrote that while he shares a good relationship with Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan, “there are exceptions like Gautam Gambhir, who dare I say isn’t the friendliest”.
“We are unlikely to be found together at a coffee shop anytime soon. We had a heated exchange on the field some years ago and it made headlines all over the world. While I have moved on in life as I feel these things are part and parcel of the game, Gautam for some reason can’t get over it. Good luck to him!” he wrote.
This is not the first time Afridi has spoken about Kashmir. During the World T20 in 2016, he had specifically thanked fans from Kashmir for supporting the Pakistan team.