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Indian cricketer apologises to Afghan fans after tweet about Afghan cricket team

Ruchi Kumar | Updated on: 14 February 2017, 5:46 IST

A former Indian cricketer managed to annoy several Afghan fans with a tweet sent on Sunday, forcing him to eat his words later, and issue an apology.

Retired cricketer Akash Chopra, took to Twitter to make a jab about cricket teams from the region.

In a light moment, he tweeted, "What does Oman, Hong Kong, UAE, Afghanistan and Pakistan have in common? All of them have Pakistani fast bowlers opening the innings."

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The comment, however, was not received with much humour by some, especially from friends over at Afghanistan. Why? Well, because there is no Pakistani player on the Afghan cricket team, which of late, has been performing spectacularly, despite little experience and resources in comparison to other teams in the region.

Naturally, within a few hours, Afghans from all quarters were tweeting at him, including the Afghan ambassador to India.

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The Afghan Cricket Board was quick to respond, as well, clarifying once again that the Afghan cricket talent was indeed homegrown.

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Chopra, on his part, accepted his mistake and issued an apology on Tuesday.

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While still the new kid on the block, the Afghan cricket team has surprised many with its aptitude and dexterity. Formed after the fall of Taliban, most Afghan cricketers have indeed spent their growing years as refugees in neighbouring countries.

However, they have been quick to scale success and surprise sports enthusiasts world over. They are ranked ninth in International Twenty20 cricket in 2015 and also qualified to the 2015 world cup.

First published: 24 February 2016, 8:01 IST
 
Ruchi Kumar @RuchiKumar

Ruchi Kumar is an Indian journalist living in Kabul with her cat Bukhari. On most days, she reports on the ongoings in the region. Rest of the time, she reads, writes and wanders around Kabul looking for people who will tell stories.