NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Shikhar Dhawan strongly criticised Shahid Afridi after the former Pakistan captain blamed the Indian Army for the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives. Afridi also questioned Pakistan’s involvement and criticised the media’s coverage of the incident.
“Patakha phat jaata hai wahaan par, Pakistan ne kiya (Even if a firecracker bursts there, they will blame it on Pakistan),” Afridi said on Samaa TV.
“Tum logon ki 8 lakh ki fauj hai Kashmir mein aur yeh ho gaya. Iska matlab nalayak ho, nikamme ho na tum log ki security de nahi sake logon ko (You have an 8,00,000-strong army in Kashmir and this still happened. It means you are inefficient and useless if you couldn’t provide security to the people),” he added.
Responding sharply, Dhawan took to social media to slam Afridi for his remarks.
“Kargil mein bhi haraya tha, already itna gire hue ho aur kitna giroge, bewajah comments pass karne se acha hai apne desh ki taraqqi mai dimag lagao @SAfridiOfficial. Humein hamari Indian Army par bohot garv hai. Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Jai Hind!,” Dhawan wrote on his social media handle.
Afridi also lashed out at the Indian media, calling their coverage of the attack “senseless.”
“Hairat hoti hai ki hamle ke ek ghante ke baad hi unka media Bollywood ban gaya. Khuda ke liye har kuch ko Bollywood mat banao (It’s surprising that within an hour of the attack, their media turned into Bollywood. For God’s sake, don’t make everything Bollywood).”
“Main hairaan ho gaya, balki main enjoy kar raha tha jis tarah ki woh baatein kar rahe they (I was astonished, in fact, I was enjoying the way they were talking).”
“Main keh raha tha dekho inki soch, yeh apne aap ko padhe likhe log kehte hain (I was saying, look at their thinking, and they call themselves educated people).”
Without naming any former Indian cricketers directly, Afridi also criticised them for blaming Pakistan without presenting evidence.
“Do cricketers jo India se itni cricket khele hue hain. Ambassadors reh chuke hain, top cricketers reh chuke hain unki taraf se direct Pakistan (There are two cricketers who have played so much cricket for India. They have been ambassadors and top cricketers, yet they directly blame Pakistan).”
“Bhai kyun Pakistan? Koi saboot hi dikha do yaar (Brother, why Pakistan? Just show some proof).”
