Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh and former Pakistani cricketer Tanveer Ahmed on Sunday, 15th February at Colombo’s R. A heated war of words has broken out before the India vs Pakistan match in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 at the Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.
War breaks out ahead of India vs Pakistan clash as Tanvir Ahmed hits out at Harbhajan Singh over ILT20 row
What all started as criticism has now turned into a full-fledged public fight between Harbhajan Singh and Tanvir Ahmed, with clips of their statements flooding the social media. Tanvir was the first person to target Harbhajan over his conversation with Usman Tariq during ILT20.
He accused the former Indian spinner of double standards. “You say you are doing commentary, but then you ask the broadcasters that you will ignore Usman Tariq. You are a hypocrite. You tell Indian players not to shake hands with Pakistani players, yet you sit in commentary with Pakistani players,” Tanvir said in a viral video.
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He further said, “If you call yourself an honest man, you should have clearly stated that you will not stand with them, talk to them, or shake hands with them. Either do not commentate with Pakistani players, or if you choose to do so, be prepared to hear such criticism.”
Harbhajan gave explosive reaction
But Harbhajan did not remain silent. He made a strong comeback with an explosive video on his YouTube channel. The former Indian spinner also took aim at Tanveer’s short international career. He told that Tanveer played only five Test matches, two ODIs and one T20 match between 2010 and 2013. He even questioned whether Tanveer had enough experience and position to speak about others.
The former World Cup winner said, “A despicable human being, who has said some things about me. Ideally, I don’t even know who he is, but because I watch again and again, he plays his part on some stage or the other.
First of all, I want to know who this guy is. Do you even know him? His name is Tanveer Ahmed. He has played some 3-4 matches for Pakistan, and he behaves as if he is Imran Khan, or Wasim Akram, or Waqar Younis. You should be ashamed. I was just playing my role as a broadcaster.”
Harbhajan Singh Cook Tanveer Ahmed [ HB YT ]
“Whether I questioned Osman Tariq or not, it didn’t matter to him.”
“You have achieved nothing in your career by sitting on the channel”
– Stop this stupid nonsense.
Disappear quietly pic.twitter.com/pSxskehm9N– Kiara (@crickiara) 13 February 2026
Tanveer Ahmed gave a stern warning to Harbhajan Singh and asked him to control his behavior.
The drama did not stop here, Tanveer warned Harbhajan against crossing limits. He said that Harbhajan is accusing him of being cultureless, but he should first check his behavior.
He said that Harbhajan has played a lot of international cricket, so behave accordingly. He also advised him that if he is an honest man then he should be prepared to hear such criticism if he is commentating with Pakistani players.
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Tanveer also said that he never used such harsh words for Harbhajan in his video. He felt that the language used against him was derogatory. He said that this time he is staying calm and showing respect. But he clearly warned that if such personal attacks happen again, he will not remain silent.
Tanveer said, “This time I am showing restraint and respect. But if you repeat it again, I will not remain silent. I will respond firmly and show you what etiquette I have and what I don’t.”
Popcorn Time
Tanveer Ahmed criticized Harbhajan Singh’s “double standards” after he targeted him in a video.
Ahmed called him out for interviewing Pakistani players and sharing the commentary box with them, while advocating no handshake for the senior Indian team. pic.twitter.com/0FXcNqG9ys
– Brutal Truth (@sarkarstix) 14 February 2026