Former Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi has been targeted by Indian media after attending a community event in Dubai hosted by the Indian diaspora from Kerala.

 

A video from the event held on May 25 by the Cochin University B.Tech Alumni Association (CUBAA) went viral on social media, showing Afridi being warmly welcomed with chants of "Boom Boom" as he arrived, with attendees excited to see the cricket star in person.

 

Indian media reacted strongly to the video, questioning why Afridi was invited, with their criticism primarily stemming from his past statements on Indian military actions in Kashmir.

 

The Pakistani former cricket star has openly called out India for blaming Pakistan for incidents without a proper investigation.

 

 

"Even if a firecracker goes off, you blame Pakistan. You have 800,000 troops in occupied Kashmir, and still, such incidents happen? That means you are incompetent and cannot protect your people," he said in May during the Pak-India escalation.

 

Afridi had also participated in a peace rally in Karachi following a military exchange between Pakistan and India. 

 

After the Dubai event video surfaced, Indian media questioned the intentions of the Indian students and community members who organised and attended the gathering. Some criticised their own people for celebrating someone seen as a critic of the Indian state.

 

Despite the backlash by the media, Afridi received a positive response from the Indian community in Dubai, many of whom appeared to focus on his cricketing legacy rather than his political opinions.