Shahid Afridi's tea invitation riles up Indians

Former Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi took a thinly veiled jibe at right-wing war mongers in India by posting a picture of himself in an army-style camouflage shirt while holding a cup of tea. The post, which appeared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), was a direct response to a tweet by former Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan.

Afridi, taking a jibe at Dhawan, captioned the post with a mocking message: "Chhoro jeet haar ko! Aao Shikhar tumhein chai pilata hoon (Forget winning and losing! Come, Shikhar, let me serve you some tea)."

The picture, along with the sarcastic caption, triggered strong reactions from Indian fans, many of whom posted inappropriate comments. However, Afridi's supporters and netizens from around the world quickly came to his defence, criticizing the toxic responses from Indian users.

This social media spat took place after Shikhar Dhawan posted a tweet a day earlier, in which he fired back at Afridi, saying: "We even defeated you in Kargil; how much lower will you fall? We are proud of our army."

The war of words between the former cricketers was initially sparked by Afridi's criticism of the Indian military following the recent Pahalgam incident. Afridi had questioned the Indian army's failure, saying: "Even if a firecracker explodes there, Pakistan gets blamed. Despite having 800,000 troops in occupied Kashmir, this incident still happened — which means you're incompetent and useless, unable to provide security to your own people."

He also brought up the issue of sports diplomacy, saying: "During the 2016 T20 World Cup, even though the situation was tense, our team still went to India. We ourselves weren't sure whether we'd go or not. India sends its kabaddi team to Pakistan but not the cricket team. If you want to cut ties, then stop everything."

Tensions between Pakistan and India have intensified after militants opened fire at a well-known tourist site, killing at least 26 individuals and wounding several more.

The attack happened on Tuesday, April 22, at Pahalgam, a popular destination in Indian-occupied Kashmir that welcomes thousands of tourists each year.