Shahid Afridi takes a dig at Gautam Gambhir's on-field behaviour in his autobiography

What's the story?

Shahid Afridi has taken a dig at former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir in his recently released autobiography. The legendary all-rounder has also alleged that Gambhir lacks personality and character, and his comments are sure to inspire plenty of controversy.

In case you didn't know...

Afridi's autobiography was released in both India and Pakistan earlier this week. The book titled 'Game Changer' discusses the career and personal life of the Pakistani all-rounder.

At first the book set tongues wagging as it contains a revelation that Afridi is older than what the official records suggest. That would put some of his personal records in danger of being stripped.

The heart of the matter

In the 2007 ODI series between India and Pakistan, Afridi and Gambhir had an argument on the field. Tempers flew high before the umpires intervened to stop the scuffle from getting uglier.

The dashing all-rounder did not forget to write about this incident in his autobiography.

"I remember the run-in with Gambhir during the 2007 Asia Cup, when he completed his single while running straight into me. The umpires had to finish it off or I would have. Clearly, we had a frank bilateral discussion about each other’s female relative," Afridi wrote.

The right-handed batsman further added that he was okay with aggressive players as long as they were positive on the field. According to Afridi, Gambhir was not a positive person at all.

"Gambhir behaves like he’s a cross between Don Bradman and James Bond. In Karachi, we call guys like him saryal (burnt up). It’s simple, I like happy, positive people. Doesn’t matter if they are aggressive or competitive, but you have to be positive and Gambhir wasn’t," Afridi wrote.

The Pakistani all-rounder mocked the attitude problems of Gambhir too. He claimed that the left-handed batsman doesn't have good enough records to back his attitude.

"Some rivalries were personal, some professional. First the curious case of Gambhir. Oh, poor Gautam. He and his attitude problem. He who has no personality. He who is barely a character in the great scheme of cricket. He who has no great records just a lot of attitude," Afridi wrote.

What's next?

The two cricketers had a bad relationship on and off the field, and it won't be a surprise if Gambhir comes up with a counter remark.