Shahid Afridi | Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has opened up about his past encounters with former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi, sharing how the ex-captain tried to unsettle him with inappropriate remarks during matches. Pathan’s revelations sparked debate on social media, with ex-Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria backing his claims and describing Afridi as someone who “lacks class and decency.”
Pathan Recalls a Heated 2006 Incident
During a conversation with Lallantop, Pathan narrated an incident from the 2006 tour of Pakistan. Both Indian and Pakistani teams were on the same flight from Karachi to Lahore when Afridi allegedly behaved in a childish manner.
“𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒊 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓. 𝑯𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆, ‘𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒊𝒅?’ 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓,” 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅.
Pathan added that Afridi went on to make offensive remarks, which led to a verbal spat between the two.
Verbal Duel and Abdul Razzaq’s Role
Pathan revealed that Abdul Razzaq, the Pakistani all-rounder, was seated next to him and politely answered his questions about local food. The conversation, however, soon turned into an indirect dig at Afridi.
“𝑯𝒆 (𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒊) 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒈 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒕, 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈. 𝑰𝒇 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌, 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆,” 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
According to him, Afridi stayed silent for the rest of the flight, realizing that he could not win the exchange. Pathan further added that Afridi never attempted to challenge him verbally again after that incident.
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