Shahid Afridi has responded to allegations that he was chewing 'tobacco' during the Defence and Martyr’s Day celebration at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
On September 6, Afridi attended the ceremony and a video of him at the event went viral. In the video, Afridi could be seen sitting in the audience and covertly tucking what was said to be 'naswar' under his top lip.
However, Afridi has said that he was not chewing 'naswar' but eating saumph and laung (fennel seeds and clove).
A video of Afridi supposedly tucking ‘tobacco’ (known as Naswar in Urdu), between his lips during the event went viral on the internet.
Afridi was ridiculed for his action on social media.
During a media interaction, Afridi was asked if he was, in fact, chewing 'nawar' during the ceremony. The cricketer responded saying he was eating fennel seeds and clove.
Afridi is one of the greatest cricketers Pakistan has ever produced. He notched over 10,000 runs at the international level and has approximately 550 wickets for his national team.