At the Airport in Dubai Both Shashi Tharoor and Shaib Akhtar bumped into each other
Senior leader of the Congress Shashi Tharoor bumped into former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar at Dubai airport. Both of them had a conversation about the two countries and cricket. Tharoor heaped praise on the 47-year-old fast bowler, calling him a "smart and engaging man" with plenty of fans in India.
He also revealed that many Indians who came to greet him at the airport wanted selfies with the Pakistani cricketer too.
Tharoor tweeted, "On my way back to Delhi via Dubai, I was pleasantly surprised when @shoaib100mph said hello. What a smart and engaging young man the tearaway fast bowler is!"
He also added, "He has plenty of fans on our side of the border; all the Indians who came up to greet me wanted selfies with him too. We had a good conversation about (inevitably) India, Pakistan, and cricket."
In reply, Shoaib Akhtar wrote, "What a pleasure running into you, Shashi ji."
Tharoor was coming back to New Delhi after attending two events at the Bradford Literature Festival. Expressing his joy to be a part of the literature festival, Tharoor said the "atmosphere of camaraderie and genuine respect for ideas and writers makes it a real pleasure—and the strong subcontinental ethos is the tadka!"