Asia Cup 2023: Gautam Gambhir slams 'friendly' Indian cricketers
- By Web Desk -
- Sep 04, 2023
Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir slammed Rohit Sharma and co. for their camaraderie with Pakistani players, ahead of the anticipated Asia Cup clash.
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During his analysis of the Pakistan vs. Indian fixture of Asia Cup 2023 on Saturday, World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir criticised the over-friendly and non-aggressive attitude of the Indian cricket team towards the arch-rivals after the pictures of former skipper Virat Kohli, having fun with Green Shirts at Pallekele, went viral on social media.
Virat Kohli and Mohammad Rizwan together. What a picture ♥️♥️ #AsiaVirat Kohli and Mohammad Rizwan together. What a picture ♥️♥️ #AsiaCup2023 #AsiaCupCup2023 #AsiaCup#INDvsPAK pic.twitter.com/8d340c0eJc
— R K CHOUDHARY (@rkchoudhary8934) September 2, 2023
“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. Friendship should be kept off the field). There has to be aggression in the eyes of both sets of players,” he said during an appearance on a sports transmission.
“You can be as friendly as you want after those six or seven hours of cricket. Those hours are very important because you’re not just representing yourself, you’re representing a nation of over a billion,” Gambhir added.
Gambhir is very clear about the basics of game and how cricket should be played. Stop giving smooches to opponents. I think those playing for their images should stay only in #Pakistan Dugout during #AsiaCup2023
That’s why
#Gautamgambhir>>>>>Kohli+Rohit#PAKvIND #AsiaCup #kohli pic.twitter.com/FRynKBFKAr— ck (@Ck2903Ck) September 2, 2023
With reference to the earlier pictures, the former cricketer continued, “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 (They are rather playing a friendly match).”
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan’s pace-packed bowling attack booked Men in Blue on 266 in the first innings before persistent rain washed out the high-octane clash in the ongoing Asia Cup 2023.
With the arch-rivals sharing a point each from the no-result fixture, Pakistan secured their spot in the Super 4s as they finished their group-stage campaign with three points from two matches.
Meanwhile, India is to face Nepal today, September 4, in a bid to join Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s.