Afridi may have tried to win Indian crowd: Gavaskar

Shahid Afridi may have been chided by his own people for his ‘more love from India’ remark but Sunil Gavaskar feels that the Pakistan skipper has smartly tried to win over the Indian crowd ahead of much-awaited clash on March 19 in Kolkata. Afridi on Sunday said that they have received more love in India than in Pakistan, inviting criticism from former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad. Even a petition has been filed against him in a court.

“Emotions run high before India-Pakistan match. What Shahid said was a good way to say nice things about Indian public. The crowd at Eden will not be hostile towards Pakistan,” Gavaskar said.

“If you have hostile crowd, it can also lift your game but if you are overwhelmed by a hostile crowd, you don’t play your natural game, you play into crowd hands. This is a fine way to win the Eden crowd. Having played in the IPL, he may have meant what he said,” Gavaskar told a news channel.