Former captain of the Pakistan cricket team, Shahid Afridi’s comment ascribing India’s success in cricket to a meat diet has drawn a lot of flak. "India has a huge 1.4 billion population, and the quality of cricket has changed over the years. Back then, we used to say that they were producing great batters while Pakistan was creating good bowlers. However, their bowlers have now started eating meat, so they have gained strength," Afridi was quoted as saying in a Pakistani sports show, according to reports. This comment has not gone down well with the former India fast bowler, Karsan Ghaveri. The 72-year-old former fast bowler, Ghavri, was one of the first to speak out against the comment. "It is a stupid statement by Afridi. Vegetarians can have equal strength. Individuals might choose to be vegetarian or nonvegetarian. Our former players like Javagal Srinath, the late Yashpal Sharma, Dilip Doshi, and many others are or were pure vergeterians, and they all were successful players". "It is a stupid statement by Afridi. Vegetarian eaters can have equal strength, too. There may be more calories in meat, etc., but vegetables and soup have good protein". "Many medals have been won by Indian athletes at the Asian Games, and many of them are vegetarians," says Ghavri, who took 109 wickets in 39 Tests and 15 in 19 ODIs. "One should not listen to Afridi's advice". It is commonly said that cricketers must consume meat to get the required protein for physically demanding games. But meat is not the primary source of protein for every cricketer. In fact, several members of the present Indian team, like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Hardik Pandya, have adopted a vegetarian diet, proving that it is possible to be successful on the field without being a non-vegetarian. Kohli admitted to being a vegetarian on Twitter, adding, "The biggest myth in the world is that non-meat eaters cannot be muscular." (Bipin Dani)