Shahid Afridi Broke TV Set Over 'Aarti' Scene - Throwback Video Is Viral Amid 'Handshake' Row

A throwback video of former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi has surfaced on social media, where he is seen admitting to “breaking” the television over an ‘aarti scene’ (Hindu religious praying act) in one of the Indian shows. The 1-minute video comes amid controversy over Afridi slamming Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav for refusing a handshake with the Pakistani team during the Asia Cup match on September 14.The old video was shared on X (formerly twitter) with caption: “Shahid Afridi openly flaunts about breaking his TV because it was showing aarti (Hindu religious praying act).”In the clip, Afridi, while speaking during an interview, says: ‘'Ek dafa TV tod chuka hun. Pehle yeh hamare Star Plus ke draame bada chala karte the. Toh main begum

ko mana karta tha aur kehta tha ke akele mein dekh liya karo, baccho ko naa baithaya karo. Toh ek dafa main ghar aaya aur kamre se bahar nikla toh, wo Indian Star Plus drama mein wo thaali lekar yun yun kar rahe.’” (“Once, I even broke the TV. Back then, those Star Plus dramas were very popular. I used to tell my wife to watch them alone and not let the kids sit with her. One day, I came home and stepped out of the room, and in that Indian Star Plus drama, someone was holding a plate and doing like this, like this…”)The interviewer interrupts and clarifies, “aarti.” Afridi then adds, “Haan, toh maine yun dekha TV ki taraf, mujhe pata nahi kya hua aur maine TV deewar ki taraf andar kar diya aur tod diya.” (''Yes, so when I looked at the TV, I don’t know what happened to me—I just pushed it toward the wall and broke it.’')The resurfaced video has since gone viral, crossing over 1 lakh views and attracting widespread criticism from netizens.

One user wrote, “The level of bigotry is shocking.” Another remarked, “Shows the deep-rooted intolerance. If a so-called ‘icon’ proudly breaks TVs over an aarti, what message does it send to common people? Hate is their mainstream, not fringe.” A third quipped, “Loathsome, I never liked him.”Meanwhile, following the Asia Cup “handshake” controversy, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) expressed displeasure and decided to lodge an official complaint with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC)—a move also supported by Afridi. Later, however, a BCCI official clarified to PTI that the Indian team had done nothing wrong.Further, India captain Suryakumar Yadav defended the act in his post-match press conference, saying that the team was “aligned with the government and the Board of Control for Cricket in India” in not shaking hands with the Pakistan team, according to a TOI report.