‘Tea is Fantastic’: PSL team’s “dasteful” tweet causes uproar

Reigning Pakan Super League champions Lahore Qalandars have durbed the hornet’s nest with a controversial tweet, taking a dig at Indian fighter jet pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. Lahore Qalandars, who have over a million followers, tweeted a photograph of all-rounder Mohammad Hussain Talat enjoying a cup of tea with the caption: “Ye tu “Tea is Fantastic” hogya”, sparking an uproar on social media.

Ye tu “Tea is Fantastic” hogya – @HussainTallat12 #QalandarHum #HBLPSL8 pic.twitter.com/fVzjKIq0ks
— Lahore Qalandars (@lahoreqalandars) February 16, 2023
In 2019, wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG-21 lost connection with Indian Airforce and veered into Pakan, where it was eventually shot down. Although Abhinandan safely ejected, he was caught the Pakani locals and later taken into custody their army.
A video was later released Pakani authorities, where Abhinandan thanked their officials for providing him with medical care and treating him professionally. “I’d like to put this on record: I will not change my statement even when I go back to my country. The officers of the Pakan Army have looked after me very well, starting from the captain who rescued me from the mob, from the soldiers, and thereafter, the officers of the unit I was taken to. I would expect my army to behave in the same way. And I’m very impressed with the Pakan Army,” the fighter jet pilot said in the clip. A Pakani official then asked Abhinanadad if he liked the tea and he responded: “The tea is fantastic, thank you.”
Since then, Pakan’s social media has been ablaze with “tea is fantastic” memes aimed at India and Abhinandan. Even Pakani celebrities like Fakhar-e-Alam joined the bandwagon.
“Wishing you all a very Happy Fantastic Tea Day. A gentle reminder that we serve fantastic tea on the dialogue table as well. So, the choice is yours, [whether] you want to pay with a plane and a pilot or just have a nice talk and sip on tea for free,” he had tweeted.
But the latest tweet PSL giants Lahore Qalandars is likely to further sour the already tense relations with the Indian cricket board. PSL is currently streamed on Sony Live in India, and this tweet could affect their broadcast in the country as well.
Indians replied to the Lahore franchise’s tweet pointing out that it was only last year that Pakan Planning Miner Ahsan Iqbal was urging Pakanis to drink less tea to help the economy.