Gambhir's special message for Afghanistan triggers 2-word reaction from Naveen

Gautam Gambhir shared a special message for Afghanistan after Pakistan were outplayed by the Naveen-ul-Haq-starrer side at the World Cup.

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir was mighty impressed with Afghanistan's performance against Pakistan as the giant killers handed the 1992 champions its third straight defeat of the ICC World Cup 2023 on Monday. Extending Pakistan's winless run in the One Day International (ODI) World Cup hosted by India, Hashmatullah Shahidi's men outclassed Babar Azam and Co. in match No.22 of the ICC event at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Afghanistan's first-ever win over Pakistan in ODI cricket has pushed Babar and Co. on the brink of elimination. Prior to its stunning win over Pakistan, Afghanistan had defeated defending champions England in the ongoing edition of the ICC event. Taking to Instagram after Afghanistan produced another upset in India, former Indian batter Gambhir congratulated Shahidi's men and said that Afghanistan are no longer the underdogs at the World Cup.

'No longer the underdogs'

"No longer the underdogs! This is their yard now!," Gambhir said in his post. Gambhir's post also triggered a heartwarming reaction from pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. Gambhir, who is the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), had a brief interaction with Naveen after India's match against Afghanistan.

'People are reminded of Virat's gesture'

LSG pacer Naveen and former India skipper Virat Kohli shared warm hugs to bury the hatchet at the World Cup. The IPL stars had a heated exchange during the 2023 edition of the cash-rich league. "That's a great gesture and I hope from here on, in the upcoming matches, in every one, people are reminded of Virat's gesture because every professional cricketer works hard to make it to this level to play for the country, to play in the IPL," Gambhir recently said on Star Sports.

How Afghanistan outclassed Pakistan in World Cup

Talking about the recently concluded World Cup encounter in Chennai, speedster Naveen bagged two wickets and conceded 52 runs in seven overs against Pakistan at the Chepauk. Naveem's teammate Noor Ahmad recorded his career-best figures as Pakistan posted 282-7 in the 50-over contest. Half-centuries from openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65) and Ibrahim Zadran (87) laid the foundation for a successful run-chase at the Chepauk. Pacers Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali only managed to pluck two wickets as unbeaten knocks from Rahmat Shah (77) and Shahidi (48) sealed Afghanistan's eight-wicket win over Pakistan.