Picture Credit: Twitter
Minutes after Pakistan the T20 World Cup final by England at Melbourne Cricket Ground, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar and current Indian pacer Md. Shami got indulged in a Twitter banter as the latter termed Pakistan’s defeat ‘Karma.’
Shami’s tweet came in response to Shoaib Akhtar’s ‘heartbroken’ tweet following Pakistan’s defeat in the summit clash. While Akhtar responded by sharing Harsha Bhogle’s quote praising the Pakistan bowling unit, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has now suggested Shami stay away from these controversies as he is part of the current Indian team.
While speaking to Samaa Tv, Afridi opined that current players must refrain from getting indulged in any sort of such controversies, and instead work towards resolving issues between neighbours as they are admired by both nations.
“See, as cricketers we are like role models. We must try that strains between the two countries should end. In my opinion, there should not be such things that spread hatred,” said Afridi.
Earlier, ex-Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan hit back at Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over his insensitive tweet where he mentioned England vs Pakistan final as 152/0 vs 170/0.
Notably, he tried to take a dig at Indian cricket team by mentioning ‘152/0’ the figure with which Men in Blue suffered defeat against Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2021, while ‘170/0’ was the figure with which England handed India a shocking defeat in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022.
Responding to Sharif’s tweet, Irfan Pathan wrote that, “Aap mein or hum mein fark yehi hai. Hum apni khushi se khush or aap dusre ke taklif se. Is liye khud ke mulk ko behtar karne pe dhyan nahi hai (That’s the difference between you and me. We take pride in our success, but you enjoy someone else’s defeat. That is one of the reasons why you are not able to focus on your country).”
Speaking of the final match, Ben Stokes played a fine innings as he guided England to its second T20 World Cup title, equalling the record of West Indies. Sam Curran too produced clinical performance as he bagged three wickets for 12 runs.
The 23-year-old left-arm pacer was adjudged Player of the Match and Tournament award for his incredible bowling spell throughout the tournament.