Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi had said in a press conference on Sunday that the love he and his team had received in India was more than what they got in Pakistan, but has faced serious flak from his countrymen immediately afterwards.
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Afridi and the rest of the Pakistan team were the last of the participating teams to reach India, after a drawn out episode regarding which Indian city was safe enough to host them. Only hours after finally landing in Kolkata, Afridi was effusive in his praise for India.
Replying to a question about his concern for security, he said, "I am in the last stage of my career and I can say that the love I have got in India is something that I will always remember. We have not got this much love even from Pakistan."
There was a united eruption of criticism from fans and journalists and former players right after Afridi made the comment – proof of how cricket is a matter to Pakistani fans which is sometimes more than life and death, especially when the competition on offer is India.
Former player and coach Javed Miandad lambasted Afridi in a TV show saying that this was an artificial statement, and that Afridi should have been more careful while indirectly speaking ill of his own country. Miandad said that the last time Afridi had visited India was in 2012, and that he could not understand what had changed in 8 hours to affect Afridi so much.
Pakistani fans took to Twitter and Facebook to blast their team’s captain. Not only that, advocate Azhar Siddique filed a plea in Lahore High Court stating that Shahid Afridi’s comment hurt sentiments of Pakistan fans. The court was urged to tell Afridi to respond within 15 days.
Pakistan are playing Sri Lanka in their only warm-up match at the Eden Gardens on Monday before moving into the main stages of the World T20.
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