Liars, traitors and opportunists: Gambhir hits back at Afridi’s ‘attitude’ jibe

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has hit back at former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi, after the latter criticised the former for having an attitude problem.   

In his book, called Game Changer, Afridi gave scathing remarks about Gambhir, which prompted a response from the former Indian cricketer.

“[Gautam Gambhir] and 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. He, who behaves like he’s a cross between Don Bradman and James Bond,” Afridi wrote in his book.

Responding to the aforementioned statement, Gambhir recalled the infamous 2007 World T20 final between the arch-rivals — which Pakistan lost by five runs after a nail-biting clash.

“Someone who doesn’t remember his age how will he remember my records! Ok, let me remind u [you] one: 2007 T20 WC [World Cup] final, Ind [India] vs Pak [Pakistan] Gambhir 75 off 54 balls vs Afridi 0 off 1 ball. Most imp [important]: We won the cup,” said Gambhir.

“And yes, I’ve attitude towards liars, traitors and opportunists,” he added.

Someone who doesn’t remember his age how will he remember my records!OK @SAfridiOfficial let me remind u one: 2007 T20 WC final, Ind Vs Pak Gambhir 75 off 54 balls Vs Afridi 0 off 1 ball. Most imp: We won the Cup. And yes, I’ve attitude towards liars, traitors & opportunists.

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) April 18, 2020

In a career spanning over 20 years, Afridi featured in 27 Tests, 398 One-day Internationals (ODIs) and 99 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).

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He scored 8,064 runs in ODIs, 1,716 runs in Tests and 1,416 in the shortest format of the game. He has 48 and 395 wickets in Tests and ODIs, respectively, while also claiming 98 wickets in T20I cricket.

Meanwhile, Gambhir, in 147 ODIs, mustered 5238 runs including 11 tons and 34 half-centuries. With the red ball, he accumulated 4154 runs in 58 Tests at an average of 41.95.