Afridi's blazing reaction to Gambhir's 'dosti bahaar rehni chahiye' remark on IND, PAK players' camaraderie in Asia Cup

Afridi lashed out Gambhir for his remark on India and Pakistan players during their group-stage tie in Adia Cup

Rain had the final say on Saturday night runing the expectatons of thousands at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy and those glued to their television sets to catch the action of first ever ODI match between India and Pakistan in four years. The second innings was washed out after Pakistan folded India for 266 runs in 48.5 overs, leaving the two sides to share a point each for the group-stage tie.

Shahid Afridi responds to Gambhir's remark on India and Pakistan players during their group-stage tie in Adia Cup

As the players of the two teams waited through the rain delay post India's batting, the likes of Virat Kohli, Babar Azam and Shadab Khan, along with few others were seen sharing a laughter. Despite India and Pakistan not playing bilateral series since 2012 amid the political tensions between the two nations, players share a great bond and respect for each other. Hence, when a similar scene was witnessed on Saturday, fans on social media shared heartwarming posts on it.

However, former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir was left fuming at the scene during his conversation with Star Sports while admitting that the camaraderie the players of India and Pakistan share left him baffled.

"When you play on the field for your national team, you must leave the friendship outside the boundary ropes. Game face hona zaroori hai. Dosti bahaar rehni chahiye. (It is important to have a game face. The friendship can remain outside during the match). There has to be an aggression in the eyes of both sets of players. You can be as friendly as you want after those six or seven hours of cricket," Gambhir said.

"Those hours are very important, because you're not just representing yourself, you're representing a nation of over a billion. These days you see players of rival teams patting each other on the back and exchanging fist bumps during a match. You would never see that a few years ago. Aap friendly match hi khel rahe ho,” he added.

Legendary Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi was later asked by Pakistan media on Gambhir's reaction and he responded with a blazing remark, lashing out at the veteran India opener's words. He explained that there is life beyond the field and that players, as ambassadors of their respective nations, should send out message of respect for one another.

“That is his thought. I think differently. We are cricketers and ambassadors as well, we all have fans across the globe. So it is better to send out message of love and respect. Yes there is aggression on the field, but there is life off the field as well,” he said.

India and Pakistan are slated to face each other again on Sunday, this time in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup.