A day after former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi made unsavoury comments about the Indian Army, Shikhar Dhawan has given a strong reaction. The comment and the reaction come days after the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22, that claimed 26 lives. The incident has resulted in one of India’s worst face-offs with Pakistan. Days after the attack, Afridi, a veteran of 27 Tests, 398 ODIs and 99 T20Is, mocked Indian Army and media for their take on the Pahalgam terrorist attack.  

Dhawan gave him a strong reply. “Kargil mein bhi haraya tha, already itna gire hue ho aur kitna giroge, bewajah comments pass karne se acha hai apne desh ki taraqqi mai dimag lagao @SAfridiOfficial. Humein hamari Indian Army par bohot garv hai. Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Jai Hind! (We beat you in Kargil. Already you guys have stooped so low, how further can you go? Instead of passing comments, focus on improving the condition of your own country. We are proud of Indian Army),” Dhawan said in a X post.  

Kargil mein bhi haraya tha, already itna gire hue ho aur kitna giroge, bewajah comments pass karne se acha hai apne desh ki taraqqi mai dimag lagao @SAfridiOfficial. Humein hamari Indian Army par bohot garv hai. Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Jai Hind!https://t.co/5PVA34CNSe

— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) April 28, 2025

Afridi had earlier questioned the role of Indian Army and called it ‘nalayak, nikamma (good for nothing, worthless) for failing to stop the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

“Tum logon ki 8 lakh ki fauj hai Kashmir mein aur yeh ho gaya. Iska matlab nalayak ho, nikamme ho na tum log ki security de nahi sake logon ko (You have an 8,00,000-strong army in Kashmir and this still happened. It means you are inefficient and useless if you couldn’t provide security to the people),” Afridi said on a TV show.

“Hairat hoti hai ki hamle ke ek ghante ke baad hi unka media Bollywood ban gaya. Khuda ke liye har kuch ko Bollywood mat banao (It’s surprising that within an hour of the attack, their media turned into Bollywood. For God’s sake, don’t make everything Bollywood).”

“Main hairaan ho gaya, balki main enjoy kar raha tha jis tarah ki woh baatein kar rahe the (I was astonished, in fact, I was enjoying the way they were talking). Main keh raha tha dekho inki soch, yeh apne aap ko padhe likhe log kehte hain (I was saying, look at their thinking, and they call themselves educated people).”

The Indian government has taken a series of non-military measures in the aftermath of the attack, with solid backing from the Opposition. The Indus Water Treaty has been indefinitely put on hold, the Attari border shut and visas of all Pakistan nationals in India revoked. 

Many have not ruled out military action, though the matter was not discussed at the all-party meeting held last week to discuss the measures against Pakistan.