NEW DELHI – Cricketer Gautam Gambhir awarded BJP ticket over spewing venomagainst Pakistan, reveals Minister

He was praised by Union Minister Arun Jaitley for not being among theplayers who “seemed to have turned sympathisers of Pakistan”. Mr Jaitleyalso brought up an India-Pak match in which Mr Gambhir had a heatedexchange with former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi.

“If you have read his tweets while he played cricket and if you rememberhis famous visual in the match with Pakistan, there was unpleasantness. Atleast our experience of former cricketers turning Pakistan sympathisersseems unlikely in this case,” Mr Jaitley said.

The remarks brought to the mind another former cricketer Navjot SinghSidhu, who quit the BJP in 2016 and later joined the Congress.

Now a Punjab minister, Mr Sidhu has been caught in a controversy over hisvisit across the border for Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s oathceremony in August, in which he had a front row seat and was seen huggingthe Pakistan army chief.by Taboolalink:Sponsored Linkslink:.linkYou Should Never Store in The FridgeHealth & Human Researchlink

Gautam Gambhir’s political debut as a member of the ruling party comes asit finalizes candidates for the April-May national election.

The former batsman, who retired from cricket in December, is expected tocontest the polls from Delhi.