“He always resorts to personal attacks” - Danish Kaneria seconds Irfan Pathan’s remarks on Shahid Afridi

India and Pakistan rivalry in cricket always makes heads turn whenever they are tussling against each other on the sporting field. But on some occasions the rivalry rubs on the players and becomes a personal affair which draws back to off- field scuffles. One such rivalry is that of former India pacer, Irfan Pathan and former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi.

Pathan in his recent interview shared why he has no respect for Afridi personally and cited incidents where he had had an upper hand on the field regards to the unlinkening of each other. He also narrated an incident dating back to 2006 tour of Pakistan, where Afridi went personal in his attack. Former Pakistan spinner, Danish Kaneria seconded this thought by Pathan and agreed that Afridi resorts to such behaviors all the time.

“Irfan @IrfanPathan bhai, you’re absolutely right. He always resorts to personal attacks—be it on someone’s family or their religion. Class and decency clearly aren’t his strengths," Kaneria tweeted.

Here's Kaneria's tweet:

India and Pakistan set to play each other

India and Pakistan are set to play each other in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. Both the teams are placed in Group A of the tournament alongside Hong-Kong and UAE. The tournament is scheduled to commence on September 9 and India will play Pakistan on September 14. The match will be held amidst the calls for boycott post India and Pakistan war that broke out around May 2025.

Pakistan squad for Asia Cup 2025: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khusdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufyan Moqim.