Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, who does not miss a chance to take potshots at India, accused the Modi government of “playing the Hindu-Muslim card”, but showered unexpected praise on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday.
“I have been saying repeatedly that this government plays the religion card, the Muslim-Hindu card to come to power. This is a very nasty mindset," Afridi said on a Pakistani news channel. He said such politics would continue as long as the BJP remained in power, before contrasting it with Rahul Gandhi’s approach. He claimed that while the Indian government was trying to be the “next Israel”, the Congress leader insisted on a dialogue with Pakistan.
Afridi’s latest outburst is part of a familiar pattern. He has once again made baseless claims while turning a blind eye to Pakistan's history of cross-border terrorism. India has consistently maintained that when it comes to engagement with Islamabad, terror and talks can’t go together. Afridi’s comments came on the heels of a controversy at the Asia Cup 2025, where Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts in their group-stage clash on Sunday.
Also read: Fearing revenue losses, Pak may not pull out of Asia Cup
The decision to this effect was taken in solidarity with victims of the Pahalgam terror attack in April, which left 26 civilians dead. Fans in India had opposed the idea of playing Pakistan so soon after the attack and the four-day military conflict that followed. But the BCCI went ahead with the match in accordance with the government policy.
Team India, however, chose to protest in their own way. The handshake snub annoyed Pakistan’s cricket establishment, which lodged a formal complaint. Infuriated by the move, Afridi claimed that Indian cricketers had been instructed to avoid handshakes.
"When the Asia Cup began, the social media was filled with boycott campaigns ahead of the match between India and Pakistan. With so much public pressure, it is no surprise that the players and the BCCI were told not to shake hands with our team. I don’t want to fault the Indian cricketers. They were given orders from up above,” Afridi alleged.
Staunchly backing the Pakistan Cricket Board’s demand to remove ICC referee Andy Pycroft, who was supervising the India vs Pakistan match, Afridi said India showed “no sportsman spirit”. “I think our stance was bang on. They would once again be shamed before the world. Our PCB chairman has taken the right stand,” he maintained.
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