After his comments drew the ire of Pakistan even before the the ICC World T20 2016 began, Shahid Afridi has again faced flak for a statement he made. This time, the BCCI has slammed the ricketer for his comments. The Pakistan T20 skipper mentioned that fans from Kashmir turned up to support his team during their clash against New Zealand in Mohali Tuesday.
That didn't go down too well with the Indian cricket board.
Bringing up the sensitive topic of Kashmir was needless, according to BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur, who also mentioned that the all-rounder star should stay away from making "politically incorrect" comments.
"To give a statement like that is not politically correct," Thakur has been quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India. "A player should stay away from all this. That's the reason why he was criticised in Pakistan [for his previous comments where he said he is loved more in India than in Pakistan]."
Afridi, 36, had said just after the toss in the match that a lot of supporters from Kashmir were present at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali.
"Yes, a lot of people, a lot of people are here [in Mohali] from Kashmir as well. And I want to thank people of Kolkata [referring to Pakistan's previous two games in the competition at Eden Gardens against Bangladesh and India], they really support us as well," Afridi commented on the amount of supporters present at the match.
Things aren't going too well for the Pakistan cricket veteran as besides getting embroiled into controversies for his comments, the team as a whole is also failing to bring up favourable results in the ICC World T20 2016.
After three games, Pak have won just once and lost twice, staring at the exit door now. Afridi will also be relieved of his captaincy duties after the end of the ICC World T20, as confirmed by Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Shaharyar Khan.
Meanwhile, Afridi has also stated that he could retire from the Twenty20 format of the game after their group game against Australia, Friday. "That (the match against Australia) could be my last," he said after Pakistan's 22-run defeat against New Zealand.
