‘Do we wish somebody ill health’: Aakash Chopra reacts to trolls questioning him for wishing Shahid Afridi a speedy recovery

Former India batsman Aakash Chopra responded to people who have been trolling him on social media after he wished former Pakistan batsman Shahid Afridi a speedy recovery. Afridi on Saturday revealed on Twitter that he has tested positive for Covid-19. Chopra, on Sunday, took to Twitter and asked people to show sensitivity and humanity. The cricketer-turned-commentator wrote: “Are we serious?? Sensitivity...humanity...thing of the past?? Wish you a speedy recovery, Shahid. May the force be with you.”

But Chopra’s tweet saw him getting trolled on social media, and in a video uploaded on his Youtube page, the cricketer-turned-commentator explained why he wished good health to former Pakistan captain, Shahid Afridi.

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“When Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi tested positive for Covid-19, someone put a video on Youtube in which they wrote that this is punishment for his deeds. The video said that Afridi has tested positive for coronavirus because he is a bad human being, and he has a lot of negative thoughts, and God has punished him. It almost meant that someone is wishing he remains unwell. I thought ‘where is humanity’? Think about it,’ Chopra said.

“Do we wish somebody ill health? Do we wish death upon somebody? Do we actually stoop down to that level? A lot of people sent me messages to look at what Shahid Afridi has said about our PM Modi, our armed forces, and all of that. Afridi has given a strong opinion, and I don’t agree with his opinion at all. But isn’t he entitled to his opinion?” he further asked. 

Chopra went on: “This is the law of the world. You like something, and I might really hate it. Or I have an opinion and you might really hate it. But still, I am entitled to my opinion and you are entitled to your opinion. But that does not mean that I would wish that this person dies. That he becomes sick, that he never recovers,” he said.

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Chopra also went on to defend former India teammates Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh over the trolling they received on social media for helping out Shahid Afridi’s charity foundation which was working towards those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Why did you troll Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh for helping out Shahid Afridi’s foundation which is helping out the poor people suffering amid the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in Pakistan. If Harbhajan Singh or Yuvraj Singh or any other Indian has helped out a charity which is raising funds for Covid-19 patients, then you are not helping Shahid Afridi. You are helping out a fellow human being. Now, what is his nationality, race, colour - how does any of that matter?

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“If anyone from Pakistan or China helps out my fellow countrymen, I would say ‘thank you very much, boss’. I want to help them out, but if I could not do that, or people from my country could not help them out, and someone else from outside helped them out, then we should not feel bad, we should actually be happy about it,” he said.

“I am very sad that someone like Yuvraj Singh or Harbhajan Singh had to apologise. Because they were trolled very badly - that why did they appeal to help out Shahid Afridi. But the appeal was not to help out Afridi. It was to help out those poor people in need. Let those people get help - by which methods the aid reaches them - how does that matter. It should not matter. That’s why I wished him well,” he further said.