Last Updated: February 05, 2023, 09:21 IST
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir (AFP Image)
Gambhir has been an intensely disliked figure in Pakistan. Over the years, several Pakistan news anchors have taken pleasure in engaging Gambhir in live TV debates. Some of them didn’t think twice before taking potshots.
There is no love lost between Pakistan and Gautam Gambhir and this fact once again resurfaced when a certain podcaster called names to India’s match-winner in 2011 World Cup. Calling him, Karale ka first cousin (for his ‘bitter’ statements against Pakistan), Nadir Shah began asking Sohail Khan his reactions on Gambhir. When the cricketer asked him to change the topic, Shah didn’t stop and kept criticizing Gambhir, calling him Rajpal Yadav ka bhai. He even misquoted him at one stage.
Sohail was rather stunned as Nadir’s revelations on Gambhir and his statements as he asked, “He speaks against Pakistan?” before he added, “Woh bhi log sunte hai (people listen to that as well)?”
Moreover he referred to Gambhir’s statements to ban Pakistan which was perhaps given in 2018 to Times of India: “If you want to ban someone from playing, you should ban them from playing every form of cricket, whether it’s Asia Cup or ICC events. You can’t have conditional bans in sports. You can’t say we won’t play bilateral series but we can’t do anything about ICC events and Asia Cup. If you want to play Pakistan in Asia Cup, why don’t you play bilateral series as well? If you don’t want to play Pakistan in bilateral series, then don’t play them in Asia Cup and in ICC events either. That is a decision that the BCCI and the Government needs to take.”
Gambhir has been an intensely disliked figure in Pakistan. Over the years, several Pakistan news anchors have taken pleasure in engaging Gambhir in live TV debates. Some of them didn’t think twice before taking potshots.
Even as the controversy raged on between BCCI and PCB over the shift in the venue for Asia Cup, BJP leader has remained tightlipped as the situation unfolds.
Meanwhile, Khan feigned no interest even as the anchor kept talking about Gambhir. He had no firm opinions on Gambhir and at one stage asked the anchor to change the topic.
Earlier Khan had taken a jibe at India Speedster Umran Malik when Shah asked him if he could break Shoiab Akhtar’s record. ‘Inke jaise bhare pade hai,’ he had replied.
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