Cricketing world will remember him as the most reckless, inconsistent and fragile player ever and justly so, but I've a different interpretation. To me, he’s a person whom failures couldn't haunt & criticism couldn't stop from being himself, he’s destined to make miracles and that’s for what he comes out every time. And obviously miracles don’t happen daily, 40 out of 350 plus matches is still a healthy ratio.
Despite of all the differences being an advocate of maturity and responsibility, I'm a great follower of Mr Shahid Khan Afridi. Teachers shouted, Professors insisted and books advised us always to follow our heart, be original and never be afraid of failures. Many of us listened to this all but either didn't understand or couldn't practice. But this man had all the courage and believe to go out and be himself. I've seen so many times, that on his comeback he opened his account with a boundary or big boomy six. He had consecutive ducks but it couldn't take away his flair of aggression and will to dominate. Where this man is playing with the record of highest ducks by a Pakistani batsman, he also has the best bowling figures, fastest century and maximum man of the match awards. I’m not here to provide the stats of his achievements, you may find those on numerous websites. I’m writing to highlight the most solid aspect of the most fragile declared individual in the cricketing world.
Afridi is a man, who many men can't be. Many would say that they don’t want to be , but I would say they couldn't even if they want to. Because being fearless is not the choice, welcoming criticism is not the art. Who can be beard when the glamour world is chasing? Who can forget the whole world and bite a ball when everybody is watching? , who can temper pitch and get banned? Who can accept it in front of the whole world without making any lame excuse with a simple smile and be sorry with the words “I had only one thing in my mind to win for my nation in a disastrous season, unfortunately I was unable to think anything else & I promise I would never do that again”. Only he has the right to be the darling of the crowd because he was the one who regathered and led the team from the front when it was facing serious spot fixing issues. Many would give this credit to Misbah but Misbah built on the solid foundation provided by this khan. He scored centuries in his captaincy tenure in lost innings. He probably is the only man who disassociated himself from the test despite of having a 150+ , not because he can’t play that but because he don’t want to play that how he plays. When Yousaf, Younas fought for their places in T20s, they should have been given the example of this guy. It might have saved their careers too. . Hitting the fastest century or getting 7-12 is not a big deal, getting out at 0 on crunch moments is not bothering, he’s meant to do what he tried from his first inning and will do in his last.
Once I read quote and have only relevance with Ishq’e’Haqiqi. That was, “out beyond the boundary of right doing and wrong doing, when you will cross them , you will find me there”.. Today I found it materialistic interpretation as well. It is what the this man is all about.
Despite of all the differences being an advocate of maturity and responsibility, I'm a great follower of Mr Shahid Khan Afridi. Teachers shouted, Professors insisted and books advised us always to follow our heart, be original and never be afraid of failures. Many of us listened to this all but either didn't understand or couldn't practice. But this man had all the courage and believe to go out and be himself. I've seen so many times, that on his comeback he opened his account with a boundary or big boomy six. He had consecutive ducks but it couldn't take away his flair of aggression and will to dominate. Where this man is playing with the record of highest ducks by a Pakistani batsman, he also has the best bowling figures, fastest century and maximum man of the match awards. I’m not here to provide the stats of his achievements, you may find those on numerous websites. I’m writing to highlight the most solid aspect of the most fragile declared individual in the cricketing world.
Afridi is a man, who many men can't be. Many would say that they don’t want to be , but I would say they couldn't even if they want to. Because being fearless is not the choice, welcoming criticism is not the art. Who can be beard when the glamour world is chasing? Who can forget the whole world and bite a ball when everybody is watching? , who can temper pitch and get banned? Who can accept it in front of the whole world without making any lame excuse with a simple smile and be sorry with the words “I had only one thing in my mind to win for my nation in a disastrous season, unfortunately I was unable to think anything else & I promise I would never do that again”. Only he has the right to be the darling of the crowd because he was the one who regathered and led the team from the front when it was facing serious spot fixing issues. Many would give this credit to Misbah but Misbah built on the solid foundation provided by this khan. He scored centuries in his captaincy tenure in lost innings. He probably is the only man who disassociated himself from the test despite of having a 150+ , not because he can’t play that but because he don’t want to play that how he plays. When Yousaf, Younas fought for their places in T20s, they should have been given the example of this guy. It might have saved their careers too. . Hitting the fastest century or getting 7-12 is not a big deal, getting out at 0 on crunch moments is not bothering, he’s meant to do what he tried from his first inning and will do in his last.
Once I read quote and have only relevance with Ishq’e’Haqiqi. That was, “out beyond the boundary of right doing and wrong doing, when you will cross them , you will find me there”.. Today I found it materialistic interpretation as well. It is what the this man is all about.
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