
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."
:What does Oman, Hong Kong, UAE, Afghanistan and Pakistan have in common? All of them have Pakistani fast bowlers opening the innings ð ð ð ð
- Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 22, 2016
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.
:@cricketaakash Mr Chopra, please correct yourslf about the #Proud Afghan Cricket Team that doesn't need any foreign player @ACBofficials
- Dr Shaida Abdali (@ShaidaAbdali) February 24, 2016
:@cricketaakash Gets Ur Fact Right Before Tweeting... Without Knowing Please Don't Spread False News
- Shanujan (@J_Shanujan) February 22, 2016
:@cricketaakash you need to know #Afghanistan and the afghan players. Try not to be ignorant, misunderstood and misled.
- Jafar Haand (@jafarhaand) February 22, 2016
:@cricketaakash Hey man there is no Pakistani in whole Afghanistan team
- bilal (@imbilal36) February 22, 2016
The Afghan Cricket Board was quick to respond, as well, clarifying once again that the Afghan cricket talent was indeed homegrown.
:@cricketaakash It is not fair to give statement. All players playing for Afghanistan and pure Afghans.
- Afghan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) February 23, 2016
:@cricketaakash add to your knowledge @ACBofficials have strong domestic structure and all players produced in Afghanistan.
- Afghan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) February 23, 2016
:@cricketaakash The peroformance @ACBofficials produced both in senior and junior are directly reflecting the system we (ACB) are running.
- Afghan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) February 23, 2016
Chopra, on his part, accepted his mistake and issued an apology on Tuesday.
:Stand corrected...unconditional apology. I was ref to the time some have spent in Pakistan during formative years! https://t.co/WtvDlFMPW5
- Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 23, 2016
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.