Gautam Gambhir Is Barely A Character In The Great Scheme Of Cricket: Shahid Afridi

Gautam Gambhir‘s relationship with Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi is well known in the cricketing world. It all began when Pakistan visited India in 2007. Gambhir and Afridi were involved in an ugly spat in Kanpur during the third ODI. The spat had occurred when Gambhir tried to steal a single but in the process, he collided with Afridi, who did not hesitate from expressing his disappointment.

On the other hand, Gambhir was also not ready to back down which led to a heated altercation between the two. With the matter getting out of hand, umpire Ian Gould was forced to play the peacemaker role. Since then neither of the two squander any chance to take a shot at each other. Even after quitting their international careers, neither of the two back down from taking a shot at each other. Afridi, in his autobiography ‘Game Changer’ has now opened up about his relation with the former India opener.

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And unsurprisingly, the former Pakistan skipper has vented his frustration over Gambhir, taking a dig at his record in international cricket.

“Some rivalries were personal, some professional. First the curious case of Gambhir. Oh poor Gautam. He & his attitude problem. He who has no personality. He who is barely a character in the great scheme of cricket. He who has no great records just a lot of attitude,” wrote Afridi about the great India opener who had shattered his country’s dream of winning the World T20 in 2007.

But perhaps Afridi’s memory is not serving him well as the next excerpt totally proves it. Recalling his feud with Gambhir that took place in 2007, Afridi wrote it happened in the Asia Cup although it had taken place during the bilateral series. No surprises then that Afridi does not remember about Gambhir’s exploits on the field.

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“I remember the run-in with Gambhir during the 2007 Asia Cup, when he completed his single while running straight into me. The umpires had to finish it off or I would have. Clearly we had a frank bilateral discussion about each other’s female relatives,” wrote Afridi.

“Gambhir behaves like he’s a cross between Don Bradman & James Bond. In Karachi we call guys like him saryal (burnt up). Its simple, I like happy, positive people. Doesn’t matter if they are aggressive or competitive, but you have to be positive & Gambhir wasn’t,” added Afridi about the player who was named the ICC Player of the Year in 2009.

Gambhir was also an important member of the victorious 2011 World Cup team that had beaten Shahid Afridi-led Pakistan in the semifinal. Four years before that, the legendary opener had top-scored in the final of the World T20 to help India beat Pakistan.