Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed endorses an anti-BCCI tweet on Indian Wing Commander Abhinandan

The entire nation has come together to welcome back the valiant IAF Wing Commander, Abhinandan Varthaman, who returned to Indian soil following his capture by the Pakistani army. Abhinandan was captured after his MIG 21 Bison crashed across the LOC on Wednesday, while being involved in a retaliatory engagement with two Pakistan Air Force F-16 planes that had infiltrated the Indian airspace.

The Pakistani army released a video of the Indian Wing Commander and since then the Indian side was actively working to ensure he returned home soon. Following this, Pakistan PM, former cricketer Imran Khan addressed his Parliament declaring that they will release Abhinandan on Friday as a gesture of peace. In spite of a delay, Imran’s words were validated when the IAF pilot finally stepped back onto the Indian soil across the Attari-Wagah border at 9 pm.

Expectedly, there was huge jubilation across India at the brave pilot’s safe return, and many took to Twitter to express their joy and relief. BCCI was also not far behind, welcoming back Abhinandan with the following tweet, along with a national team jersey design dedicated to Abhinandan. Just yesterday BCCI had released the Indian Cricket Team’s jersey for the World Cup 2019 and they posted one for Abhinandan with No.1 on the back.

BCCI dedicates jersey to Abhinandan

“#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan You rule the skies and you rule our hearts. Your courage and dignity will inspire generations to come 🇮🇳 #TeamIndia.”

#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan You rule the skies and you rule our hearts. Your courage and dignity will inspire generations to come 🇮🇳 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/PbG385LUsE

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 1, 2019

However, the jubilation was not shared by everyone across the border, and a lot of Pakistanis expressed their indignation on Twitter over the issue. Shoaib Jatt, sports correspondent and anchor of Pakistani news channel Samaa TV, took to Twitter with multiple anti-Abhinandan tweets. Even BCCI’s tweet was not spared, with Jatt retweeting BCCI’s tweet with the following tweet.

Here is the tweet by Pakistani anchor Shoaib Jatt:

How can @BCCI tribute to an Indian pilot who violated LoC for bombing in Pakistan 🇵🇰????
If supporting #Abhinandan is patriotism then @TheRealPCB must pay SALAM to HASSAN SIDDIQUE the Pakistani Fighter Pilot who shot down Abhinandan jet.
If agreed please retweet as demand pic.twitter.com/McQgLHDQom

— Shoaib Jatt (@Shoaib_Jatt) March 2, 2019

With Jatt asking for retweets from those who supported his views, he found support from a somewhat unexpected source in Pakistani captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. Mere days after claiming that he could not “recall Pakistan ever mixing sports with politics”, Sarfaraz retweeted Jatt’s tweet, which is sure to raise eyebrows. Why Sarfaraz would support a political view which cancels out his previous claim, is anyone’s guess.

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