Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria agreed with Irfan Pathan‘s assessment of Shahid Afridi. During a recent appearance on a podcast, Irfan Pathan opened up about his battles with Afridi and how he dismissed him on 11 occasions in international cricket. Irfan Pathan minced no words as he labelled the former Pakistan captain a “badtameez aadmi (ill-mannered man).” Kaneria has always been vocal about his issues with Afridi, accusing the latter of being discriminatory towards him during their playing days.
Irfan Pathan labelled Shahid Afridi as a “badtameez aadmi.”(X Image)
During his interview with Lallantop, Pathan revealed that he was involved in a heated altercation with Afridi on a plane during his 2006 tour of Pakistan. Pathan alleged that it was the former Pakistan all-rounder who started the interaction by messing around with his hair.
However, Pathan didn’t take kindly to this interaction as he was not friends with Afridi. The former Indian pacer, who was a youngster back then, did not hold back as he launched a scathing attack. “The childish behaviour was actually his. He was not my friend. After that, Afridi said some abusive words to me. His seat was right next to mine,” said Pathan.
“I said, “He (Afridi) has eaten dog meat, he has been barking for a long time” After that, Afridi couldn’t say anything. Whatever he might have said, I would have just said, ‘Look, he is barking again,” he added.
Also Read: Irfan Pathan’s ‘dog meat’ retaliation silenced Shahid Afridi’s ‘barking’
Danish Kaneria reacted to the viral video clip of the same, saying Afridi lacks “class and decency” and he often resorts to personal attacks.
“Irfan 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 wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
History between Kaneria and Afridi
There is no love lost between Danish Kaneria and Shahid Afridi. Some years back, Kaneria alleged that he had to face religious discrimination while playing for Pakistan. He claimed that some of his teammates were reluctant to eat with him because of his faith.
He also alleged that Shahid Afridi, a senior member of the Pakistan dressing room, encouraged other players to ostracise him.
However, Afridi denied all these allegations, calling Kaneria a “liar” and trying to gain sympathy after being banned by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for involvement in a spot-fixing scandal in county cricket.
Kaneria felt he was targetted by senior Pakistan players and was not given adequate support. On the other hand, Afridi accused Kaneria of not accepting his mistake and trying to gain sympathy.