Afridi’s statement will ensure less hostility towards Pakistan: Gavaskar
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KOLKATA: Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar believes Shahid Afridi’s recent statement may turn out to be a stroke of genius that will ensure less hostility towards the Pakistan team when they play at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
“Emotions always run high when there is a question of Pakistan and India,” Gavaskar told NDTV.
“What Shahid Afridi said, he has obviously got reactions in Pakistan, but I look at it as a good way to ensure less hostility towards the Pakistan team.”
Pakistan’s Twenty20 skipper came under fire for his comments at a press conference in Kolkata in which he said, “we are more loved in India than in Pakistan”.
The comments drew sharp criticism in Pakistan, with some former players condemning the skipper for “degrading his countrymen”.
But for Gavaskar, this may have been strategic move by the Pakistan captain to win over the Eden Gardens crowd.
“You say nice things about Indian public; maybe you mean it, maybe you don’t mean it. But what it will do, it will certainly help as far as the crowd is concerned.
“The crowd will not be overly hostile to Afridi and the Pakistani team. That can actually work well for Pakistan,” said the 66-year-old Indian batting legend.
Gavaskar, who averaged a prolific 51.12 in 125 Tests for India, said sometimes playing in a hostile environment could do wonders for a team.
“It can work sometimes and you can actually lift your game to such an extent that you want to silence the hostile crowd,” he said.
“Or sometimes it can have the opposite effect where you just get so overwhelmed by the hostility that you don’t play your natural game and end up playing into the crowd’s hand.”
The former Indian captain termed Afridi’s statement as “a very fine way to win the Eden crowd on their side”.
But he added that Afridi’s statement might be sincere and reflected his experience of playing in the first edition of the Indian Premier League.
“Afridi is somebody who speaks his heart, he doesn’t mince his words and he probably was speaking from his experience of playing in India,” said Gavaskar.
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On DawnNews
Comments (131) Closed
Mar 15, 2016 03:30pm
We all love Pak team for sure nothing wrong in Afridi's statement but more then Pak fans he might be true in the sense Pak fans may criticize more then Indian fans.
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Mar 15, 2016 03:36pm
While I have nothing against Afridi's statement, I'm surprised Mr. Gavaskar thinks the statement will result in "less hostility" towards Pakistan team. This is a World T20 cricket game. Lack of hostility should be a given in any case!
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Mar 15, 2016 03:36pm
He could have said what he said sensibly (sense that he apparently lacks)...but storm in a teacup really!
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Mar 15, 2016 03:38pm
I just met afridi yestersay in Eden gardens and he was wonderful...I dont know why Pakistan has such reaction to what he said.
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Mar 15, 2016 03:40pm
@Harmony-1© so what according to you is sensible..
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Mar 15, 2016 03:44pm
i agree to afridi statement..very sensible statement
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Mar 15, 2016 03:45pm
In others words, belittle Pakistan to get respect in India. Now that is very thoughtful.
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Mar 15, 2016 03:49pm
@Santhosh, If Dhoni or Kholi did the same thing like Afridi then what will you expect from your crowd ??
I think you guys react the same like we did :)
We all are same dear .. Both nations have great loving peoples and we all love to travel each other country..
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Mar 15, 2016 03:49pm
The reaction came from Indian and not Pakistan.
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Mar 15, 2016 03:49pm
That was a fair comment by Afridi. There was no harm in it. Ganguly has openly said about uplifting of Pak Cricket and how can Pak win matches against India. Ganguly also said they (Indian team) got huge hospitality when they traveled in 2003-04. Nobody has charged Ganguly with any anti-nationalism. It was a sensible comment by Afridi in context of the game and for the benefit of Pak team. He wanted that to unnerve the over buoyed hostility for the benefit of his team members as many of them have not traveled to India, and he did it successfully for the benefit of Pak team.
People who are opposing, are not understanding this clever move.
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Mar 15, 2016 03:53pm
Considering the sharp criticism he has faced in Pakistan, he is right in a way. As a Pakistani, I don't think there was anything belittling about it. That still doesn't absolve you of your recent string of horrendous performances, Afridi.
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Mar 15, 2016 03:55pm
@Furqan : for that you need to give love to your cricketers
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Mar 15, 2016 03:58pm
Afridi is a very emotional person, I think he speaks from the heart and less from his mind.
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Mar 15, 2016 03:59pm
Players of less than mediocre performance should display more modesty... I can understand the indian hostility, just watch their media..About time Pakistanis showed some patriotism not such belittling comments by the pak team capt.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:00pm
Master stroke of Afridi.Welcome to IPL as analyst,post retirement planning is good....Welcome to India
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Mar 15, 2016 04:02pm
“The crowd will not be overly hostile to Afridi and the Pakistani team. That can actually work well for Pakistan,” said the 66-year-old Indian batting legend" So Gavaskar thinks that the Indian crowd will act as a more or less hostile host, this is a real shame for Indian's thinking attitude. Even if the worst enemy visits Pakistan he will not be treated with hostility, this is the difference. The entire Pakistanis severely condemned terror attacks on Sri Lankan team.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:04pm
You are right Mr. Gavaskar, but everyone have not a same kind of vision to win anyone hearts by claiming other side more valuable to you because all minds and thinking are not same.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:04pm
Giving disrepute to one's own country. Unbecoming of someone who's leading the national side. Once in Pakistan he sure will retract his statement.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:06pm
Pakistan's electronic media was very negative last night with respect to Afridi's statement. They tried to bring a storm out of nothing.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:07pm
Afridi has totally lost it. Poor performance in the ground and outside the ground.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:07pm
Afridi has done his part and so has the Pakistan Nation...but someone in India should give advise to the Indians to opt for peace and love...the present Indian Government
is spreding too much hate...which is not a good thing...
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Mar 15, 2016 04:07pm
Don't care what he said as words don't matter much here - want to see the team and him perform well.
Btw, given some of the undue criticism (performance related criticism is absolutely justified) against the team and him, his words are quite true - he was speaking his heart out.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:08pm
Nobody can question Afridi's patriotism,however a slip of the tongue has created such a response by the media.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:09pm
@all the Indian readers :
So, all the Indian fans would "love" the statement if Dhoni said the same thing while visiting Pakistan? "I got more love in Pakistan than in India"? How would you feel about that?
His statement shows how less he thinks before speaking. Saying you get more love from your archrival country compared to your own country who made you and gave you that green cap you are wearing. BTW we are talking about the same India whose state CM said we will not let Pakistan play.
I was a diehard Afridi fan but this is crossing the limits a bit too much.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:11pm
I do not see anything wrong in Afridi's statement. If he feels comfortable playing in India and with Indian crowed then what's wrong with it. We should give up such extreme attitude and accept ground reality.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:11pm
@Furqan : If Dhoni or Kohli done this for such a long time in Indian Cricket they would have been stepped down or been fired from the team by this time. It is Pak boards job to take some tough decisions when there is no results from the skipper for such a long time.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:14pm
Both the countries should reduce this extremism against each other.I remember my parents always told they were living in India with peace and harmony as neighbors. Both hindus and Muslims used to share festivals and greet each other. Why don't we can create such environment again?
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Mar 15, 2016 04:14pm
Mr. Gavasker, why do you believe that the crowd was going to be hostile towards Pakistan to begin with? Have you ever seen a hostile Pakistani crowd whenever India has played in Pakistan?
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Mar 15, 2016 04:15pm
I don't mind a bit of hostility towards Pakistan, but we need to make sure we also give good hospitality to them! They are our guest after all!
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Mar 15, 2016 04:17pm
There are people who always create storm in a cup of tea. Nothing wrong with Afridi's appreciation to Indian crowed.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:20pm
Dont try to win Indian support , please try to win the matches especially against India . Mr. Afridi you are a cricket player and not politician. Leave these things to Nawaz Shareef and Imran khan who can make statements to please Indians !
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Mar 15, 2016 04:20pm
Afridi is right, if in Pakistan every body loves Afridi and in India every fifth person love him then combine love from India is more than Pakistan because India has more than billion peoples. ;-)
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Mar 15, 2016 04:20pm
@Santhosh with the Indian crowd throwing stuff at other teams, I'm not too sure. You guys have a history of it. :)
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Mar 15, 2016 04:22pm
One should ask Gavaskar and the Indian people, why do you feel the need to be hostile towards Pakistani team or anything that is Pakistan? Isn't it about time you went your own way and we ours? There is nothing positive about Afridi's statement, it was an inconsiderate statement. Afridi should be mature enough to know what he is saying about playing cricket for 20 years.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:22pm
What a political lame comment from a legend like Gavaskar, I was not expecting this. Where this hostility came from, take it as a game why there is a need to politicize each and everything.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:27pm
So Mr. Gavasakr thinks that Afridi needs to tame the crowds so that he could concentrate on his game and perform (which he hasn't been for a long time now). That's a very funny way of looking at words which were spit out without much thinking.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:28pm
I think if afridi would not have added the words ".......more than the love we get in Pakistan". I have always see players like De veliers, bravo, kalis, Shaun Marsh, Hogg, mccullum etc saying that they get so much love in India. During IPL these comments are on daily basis. But yes they don't show anger or disrespect for fans back home in the same statement.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:29pm
@Sam You have said what i wanted to say,thank you.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:30pm
What storm? I don't see any harm in appreciating their hosts of their respect and hospitality.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:32pm
Whats wrong in what Afridi said. If you most Indians if you like Wasim Akram or some Indian pace bowler, they will say Wasim Akram. Is it only pakistan that can give a good welcome to Indian cricketers?
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Mar 15, 2016 04:35pm
@Bharatiya That's because there is a vast empty space up there..
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Mar 15, 2016 04:40pm
Afridi is at the end of his career, may be trying to make a career post retirement in India, may wants to follow in the footsteps of wasim akram/shoib aktar
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Mar 15, 2016 04:47pm
But I must agree the Pakistani crowd is well behaved and extends great hospitality to their guests. My buddy from Delhi visited Pakistan during the last test series and only has best things to say about you.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:47pm
@pakistani people ...True point is we are not against pakistani people at all... We against terrorists..!! So withdraw the useless case against afridi ... Ask shoaib .. Wasim .. They were always in india home series they ever complaint about india ..!! No whats wront afridi statement .. And india is No- 1 for hostility towards for world .. !!
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Mar 15, 2016 04:47pm
@Krishna Ryali Looking at his almost zilch performance recently, I think he showed his loyalty with his performance.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:48pm
What Indians love about Afridi is his performance like he did in the warm up match against Sri Lanka. Gavasker is trying to read too much into Afridi's statement.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:49pm
Non sense. Why to be in such environment to begin with. We are to play a game of cricket not war. Pakistan should have stayed put and not visit India.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:49pm
People are reading too much into the words of Afridi . Ideally he wanted to convey people are also friendly in India. The comparison would also mean to reflect that he sees no difference between the people and he sees people across political barriers. @FUSQAN Indians are a touch less emotional than pakistanis who are reported to break tv sets , criricize excessively , make panic changes in the team and management and so on.
Indians are way calmer compared to Pak. Both within the team and with the management they ensure dirty linen is not washed in public.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:52pm
I tend to agree with Gavaskar.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:55pm
In fact our commentators have made meaningful comparisons between pakistani bowlers and Indian bowlers to highlight what is being done wrong publicly. This does not mean they are belittling Indian bowlers to Pak Bowlers. Very often Harsha Bhogle , Sunil and Shastri have openly criticized the Indian bowling often comparing to the likes of Akram and company.It has to be taken in the right spirit
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Mar 15, 2016 04:59pm
Would love to see Afridi in the IPL again
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Mar 15, 2016 05:03pm
"Speaks with his heart".....meaning no brain!
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Mar 15, 2016 05:04pm
Great words from a great cricketer and a thorough gentleman.Afridi never minced his words.We all love Pakistan.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:07pm
What does a person do who is about to retire ? He becomes obsequious towards other employers to get employment. So what Afridi has lost respect in Miandad' s heart , the important point is ,he has made room in Gavasker's heart. He should be given a contract for commentary after world cup for India. He also has capability to be a coach for one of IPL teams like Wasim Akram.
So many benefits and so much money because of just one setence of praise.
This is the biggest six Afridi has ever hit.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:08pm
Commercial interests and post retirement weigh heavy on Afridi's mind, hence why, he should never be captaining the side - he has no focus on performing.
If he did, surely he would want to lead from the front and promote himself as opener, that's where it all started.....
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Mar 15, 2016 05:10pm
May be Afridi meant that cricket is a bigger thing in India than in Pakistan, so there is more love and respect for cricketers there..
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Mar 15, 2016 05:11pm
Thats a way of always looking at positives and i dont see any harm in Afridi's statement. There was no disregard for Pakistani fans. We polarise everything.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:13pm
I agree with Gavaskar that there is nothing wrong in acknowledging the hospitality of the host nation which will only work in favour of Pakistan team throughout its stay in India. I feel he spoke his heart out being hounded by Pak media on form and captaincy issues for the past one month but he along with the team got a warm welcome in India.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:13pm
@SLIDER Look around you in other media and forums, and see how Indians conduct themselves, then come here and say who is calm and civil in their attitude . Thanks.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:13pm
Gav is doing a right thing, backing up Afridi who will definitively be playing with India. Team Pakistan 10 players team India 11+Afridi (remember his last performance 0 runs batting 40 runs in 4 overs bowling).
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Mar 15, 2016 05:13pm
Just read in recent days all the hostile comments for our captain Afridi - all before WC T20. Asking him to retire by armchair bigots, despite his life long service to his country. Are our national hero's really loved in the land of pure? I think sectarianism is ruling the land and the illiterate (not all) are extremely biased against anyone but from that province. This is how it is in all walks of life!
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Mar 15, 2016 05:13pm
Sometimes even Dhoni says similar things, but he has learnt the art of saying in in a politically correct way!
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Mar 15, 2016 05:19pm
Gavaskar Sir...you travelled to Pakistan for a series in 1978, only 7 years after break up of East Pakistan due to Indian invasion. But Pakistani public was not hostile to Indian team rather they were given respect. Even if your enemy come to your home he should be given respect. Moreover, sportsmen, artists have nothing to do with politics. Social values and moral values are followed differently in different societies.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:22pm
@Ankit Lucknowi you would have known if Dhoni would have given that statement about Pakistan.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:27pm
Except the match against India Pak will get good support from Indians.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:29pm
@Raj real voice yes your voice certainly real. Thanks for saying what we avoid to say that India is no.1 in hostility towards the world.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:30pm
Yes he is right
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Mar 15, 2016 05:30pm
I think Afridi meant no harm but i think he should frame statements more carefully just to avoid controversies. Being an international player one should know how to handle media. You can always take leaf out of players like Rahul Dravid, MSD. Very affluent and correct speaking people.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:31pm
@Bhargav
DHONI is captan cool, do you think we can ever produce one like him here
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Mar 15, 2016 05:36pm
Really, did Shahid Afridi said that?
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Mar 15, 2016 05:43pm
we would love watching a true contest and we do love many players across border. Umar Akmal is pure talent, the way Amir is bowling may be at Eden will review memory of Shaoib Akhtar claiming Rahul Dravid and Sachin on successive ball.
so leave aside the words and let the action begin....
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Mar 15, 2016 05:43pm
@Sam Bro, Inzamam has already said this before. No one reacted then.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:45pm
That was a brilliant diplomatic stuff from Afridi to make life easy for his team on the ground but some stupids will never understand that and as expected criticized him heavily. Lack of education my friend that is all I can for such reactions.Good captain's stuff from Afridi though.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:48pm
@IP Agreed
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Mar 15, 2016 05:50pm
@Ankit Lucknowi Thats awesome! And thank you for welcoming our team in India :-) Cheers.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:51pm
Gavaskar is covering up the embarassment of digging pitch attitude of indians.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:53pm
Actually it makes sense now
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Mar 15, 2016 05:54pm
Gavaskar accepted Pakistan is playing in rather hostile environment.
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Mar 15, 2016 05:58pm
Afridi gave a friendly statement, did not wanted to be politicized.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:08pm
i dont see what is wrong in crowd being hostile? have you watched football and how intimidating the crowd is? they are not called 12th man for no reason. as far as it is only till stadium, there is nothing wrong in that.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:12pm
What do you expect from Gavaskar to say, Shahid Afridi does not have the guts to stand up for Pakistan. Leaders defend the pride they donot bow down to pressures. I thing\k Mr. Afridi should be removed as captain immediately.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:15pm
Lets get ourselves out of the dark ages and move forward. We should commend and appreciate Afridi for making this statement. He is doing his part in Pak-India friendship. Come on people !
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Mar 15, 2016 06:18pm
We love to make such issues out of proportion. Don't know if these two countries will ever live as sensible neighbors.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:19pm
@bluejay Gavaskar has a point lets leave it at that.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:19pm
@IP The difference is, Afridi said he gets more love than Pakistan. If Ganguly had compared the same way, I am sure he would have received much harsher criticism.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:19pm
@Santhosh 'We all love Pak team for sure' Have you ever watched a Pakistan VS India match in India ? If you had, you wouldn't have made that statement. Indian crowd is the most hostile crowd of any country towards Pakistan. Its easier to say nice things on this forum, but its in contract to the stark reality.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:32pm
Afridi should have stayed home.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:33pm
@Abdulla Hussain ,
Just lip service is not going to work any more. Action speaks louder. Just few years back this same Mr. Afridi had said that Pakistanis are large hearted people!
Now these same large hearted people have started hating him
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Mar 15, 2016 06:38pm
If you send your players in such a situation where they already threatened by the extremist then such kind of statements are not unexpected.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:39pm
Complete non-issue.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:40pm
Afridi will be retiring after this tournament and making his ground to make some money from IPL. I bet he got the advice from Wasim Akram regarding what to say out there since Wasim is very successful in India.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:48pm
S Ganguly "I respect Afridi's contribution to cricket but there comes a time when a team needs freshness & a young captain" WT20
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Mar 15, 2016 06:50pm
Dear Afridi, kindly "engage brain before putting mouth in gear".
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Mar 15, 2016 06:50pm
Well i expect a good contest from both teams.Hard to choose the winners but good luck to both
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Mar 15, 2016 06:50pm
@RIZ
yes very possible
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Mar 15, 2016 06:51pm
@Abdulla Hussain He was talking about hostility in Cricket, not enmity. There is always a hositlity in Cricket in Indo-pak or Australia - england match. that type of hostility he was talking about.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:53pm
Afridi was trying to be nice. Gavaskar was earning his rupees spinning afridi's words. When hostily is used in sporting context it is about home team vs. Away team. It is not about war here. Pakistani cricketers are respected by most in India. Afridi should not have compared fans but we know he hardly has a doctorate in communications.
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Mar 15, 2016 07:13pm
@RIZ ...Yes you are absolute right ...
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Mar 15, 2016 07:28pm
If Afridi wins the match against India and give any statement, which is acceptable. If he plays well and defeat India, no one in Pakistan have any allegation for these type of statements. The main frustration is for the defeat, not the love.
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Mar 15, 2016 07:28pm
Afridi made a very good and well intentioned statement. Well done Shahid, you are a great Pakistani and people who are questioning your loyalty are ignorant and shallow.
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Mar 15, 2016 07:37pm
Not surprised at Afridi's statement. He is eyeing a slot in IPL as he cannot be part of international cricket anymore by any standards. He is in the team because of the promise made by PCB chairman. Now he will make sounds which will be music to Indian fans but Indians are not naive as us.
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Mar 15, 2016 07:42pm
First of all Afridi is not genius as he fail to show in n the field.you can only win by playing best cricket not by passing such statements that only make your mind boggling and take your focus out of ground.
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Mar 15, 2016 07:46pm
@Ankit Lucknowi
i agragree with u Ankit.
we should not show this reaction, after all Indians are people like us.
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Mar 15, 2016 07:47pm
afridi is great..lets pray more and more indians, pakistanis say the same. i was born in india..my parents born in shekhupura Pak. i living in germany turned german..visit pakistan as well india ...get the same love..i love and get lovd..As an Indian from Punjab i,ve got many pakistani good friends..!
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Mar 15, 2016 07:56pm
I think he wants to say that Indians are less critical of his below par performance than Pakistanis.
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Mar 15, 2016 07:56pm
Afridi is great.! Iam an indian and proud of such pakistanis ! agar yahi baat Afridi ne england pe kahi hoti ..to miandaad bahut khush hota..But the fact is iss nafrat ki duniya me ..we need more and more afridis..carry on brother.!
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Mar 15, 2016 08:15pm
Shahid Afridi is a world renowned celebrity and loved by his world wide fans. Ravi Shastri was the first person who used to call him BOOM BOOM Afridi. I believe we should not express our reaction immediately.
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Mar 15, 2016 08:41pm
@Hashim you have a nice thinking, I appreciate and like your words. If every citizen of India and Pakistan may think like this then no dispute arises between them
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Mar 15, 2016 08:55pm
Gavaskar is right as well as Afridi. Both are great sportsman and understand the value of having good relationships with public and people in stadium.
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Mar 15, 2016 09:13pm
Mr Gawaskar ! why at all any hostility towards Pakistan in the firstplace ? You need to make statements to calm your people and not me singing false praise for your hostile nation !
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Mar 15, 2016 09:29pm
Good thinking brother. I agree with you. We should think who teach us biases.
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Mar 15, 2016 10:42pm
Afridi should have been retired, his performance has been constantly deteriorating, he cannot get along with his teammates, he does not deserve to be in World-T20.
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Mar 15, 2016 11:15pm
Tells alot about Indian Crowd
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Mar 15, 2016 11:38pm
@Santhosh rubbish. Even if pak fans criticize him, still he has no right to tell lies. The match was moved from Dharmsalla to Calcutta due to hateful crowd and violence. Then this guy says he gets more love in india.
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Mar 15, 2016 11:41pm
Gavaskar needs to understand,that it is the indian public and media that need to change their mindset, not the pakistani team captain , uttering rubbish on enemy soil against his own country. Problem lies in india itself.
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Mar 15, 2016 11:46pm
@sandeep that he simply say, ' he enjoyed playing in Eden garden, cricket was loved by all and that we have a good team, new strategy and have come to win and give cricket lovers a good show'.
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Mar 15, 2016 11:49pm
Afridi is not a politician. His statement is good but not politically correct. He should have choose politically correct statement to appreciate Indian fans.
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Mar 15, 2016 11:50pm
Afridi has lost 70% of his fans and support in his country. His captainship of PSL Zalmi will be in doubt after some time. This will haunt him. He will also come to pakistan and profess his love for pakistan. Too little too late.
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Mar 15, 2016 11:53pm
We Indians need to stop hating Pakistan and separate sport from misguided politics. Love is universal for all mankind. But when you are Captain , you are your nations ambassador, so your words should be chosen more carefully.
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Mar 15, 2016 11:56pm
This is Indian medias way of putting psychological pressure on Pakistan team and ensuring india wins. Afridi fell into the trap and disadvantaged the team.
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Mar 16, 2016 12:40am
@Abdulla Hussain omg u have taken it to another level ..dont be so serious...the hostility Mr Gavaskar is talking about is of the crowd in the stadium.
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Mar 16, 2016 01:19am
Well Said Gavaskar!
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Mar 16, 2016 01:43am
That was politically very good statement by Afridi. Looks like first time he used some wisdom and we people got upset.
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Mar 16, 2016 02:11am
Afridi might be right in saying what he said, we as Pakistanis wanted to see him just wining or just criticism
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Mar 16, 2016 02:45am
Indians are good and friendly people and Pakistan cricket captain and team ahould admire and appreciate their hospitality but why do you have to compare India and Pakistan all the time. Indians are a great nation and most pakistani will love it there but that mut not be compared. Why say that " not even in Pakistan". Why tie these two rhings together and compare?
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Mar 16, 2016 03:31am
@bluejay he is talking about less hostility by spectators towards pak team.
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Mar 16, 2016 06:26am
PCB ought to train cricketers in how to deal with media!
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Mar 16, 2016 11:09am
THANK YOU SO MUCH - Mr. Gavaskar!!!
Also THANK YOU to Wasim Akram & Waqar Younis for doing the same!!!!
Intelligent people will always "Read Between The Lines"!!!
Afridi you Rock!!!
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Mar 16, 2016 10:34pm
@AXH India playing in Pakistan only in history...dont see that happening gain in another 15-20 years
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Mar 17, 2016 12:55am
This reverse physcology is a master stroke from Afridi! And I agreee with Sunny Gavaskar.As a Pakistani supporter my compriates must appreciate that it is only natural for the Indians to support their team. True cricket lovers will appreciate good performance whoever is playing. Most Indians are lovers of the game and will welcome our team. Don't forget this is T20 not test match. So the spectators have a football match mentality. Generally most Indians do welcome Pakistani and vice versa Indians in Pakistan. Best wishes to both teams.
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Mar 17, 2016 10:35am
Indian crowds are not hostile to Pakistan. I still remember when Pakistan under Wasim Akram won a test match in Chennai the crowd gave the team a standing ovation
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