Gautam Gambhir objects to camaraderie between India, Pak players during match; Shahid Afridi disagrees

Chandigarh, September 8

The India-Pakistan game in Kandy on September 2 during the ongoing Asia Cup saw former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir reacting to the bonhomie shared between the players of the two sides.

Following the washout of the match because of rain, the players were seen exchanging a few light-hearted moments.

Speaking on Star Sports, Gambhir objected to their camaraderie, saying, “When you play on the field for your national team, you must leave the friendship outside the boundary ropes. Game face hona zaroori hai. Dosti bahaar rehni chahiye. (It is important to have a game face, the friendship should be kept away). There has to be an aggression in the eyes of both sets of players.”

“You can be as friendly as you want after those six or seven hours of cricket. Those hours are very important because you’re not just representing yourself, you’re representing a nation of over a billion.

“These days you see players of rival teams patting each other on the back and exchanging fist bumps during a match. You would never see that a few years ago,” Gambhir added.

Reacting to Gambhir’s statement, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has given his opinion about the same.

Disagreeing with Gambhir’s views, Afridi said, “That’s his thought. My thinking is different. We are cricketers as well as ambassadors. We have fans in both the nations. I think, it would be better if we send out a message of love and friendship. Aggression is there in the ground but there is life off the field as well.”

The arch-rivals are set to face each other again in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup in Colombo on September 10.