Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi are famous for their verbal confrontations on social media. It all started in Kanpur in the ODI match in 2007. The duo shared a heated argument and umpire had to interrupt to cool down things but the relation between the two still remains tangled. Gambhir and Afridi don’t let a moment to slip to pass statements against each other.
Recently, the former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi has again commented on cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir’s mental health. He said that he likes Gambhir as a batsman and cricketer but not as a human being. He further cited the physio Paddy Upton’s statement on the former Indian cricketer’s mental health and said that Gambhir has some problem.
As a cricketer, as a batsman, I’ve liked Gautam Gambhir always: Shahid Afridi
“As a cricketer, as a batsman, I’ve liked him always but as a human being he sometimes says certain things, gives certain treatment that you feel just let it be, he has some problems. His physio has already highlighted that,” Shahid Afridi to Zainab Abbas in an interview.
Lala on Gautam Gambhir.. pic.twitter.com/V3LcvNsCsY
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) July 5, 2020
Paddy Upton’s statement:
Paddy Upton, in his book, had stated about Gambhir’s behaviour after scoring a ton and stressing on the mistakes he made.
“Using the popular notion of mental toughness, he was one of the weakest and mentally most insecure’ people I have worked with,” Upton had written.
Well, Gautam Gambhir always gives a counterblast to Shahid Afridi’s statement on him. So, fans might be waiting for what the World Cup winner comes out with the reply to Afridi on his current remark.
Meanwhile, it will be wrong to question Gambhir’s mental toughness after seeing his contribution to India’s victory in the finals of the ICC World T20 2007 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. He built the innings in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 against Sri Lanka when the team was under pressure after losing Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag’s wickets. Gambhir scored 97 runs and led India to a stable position before captain MS Dhoni hit the winning six to guide India to World Cup victory after 28 years of wait. Similarly, he was the star performer for the team in the T20 World Cup triumph, scoring 75 runs in the marquee clash against Pakistan.