- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 217,977
Of late, Frank Sinatra’s famous and iconic song “I did it my way” has made its way into many conversations, with the most notable and amusing usage at President Trump’s inaugural ball dance. But where it will also be mentioned many times over in the coming years will be to put some sense and rationale around the career of one of Pakistan’s best loved cricketers, Shahid Khan Afridi.
“And now, the end is near”
It came out of the blue and whilst there had been murmurs for a few months about Afridi’s impending departure from the international scene with him making clear that he deserved a final grand farewell, there had been no clear indication of when he would leave. But the end of his international career suddenly and unexpectedly came in Sharjah at the end of a particularly brutal trademark Shahid Afridi innings at the ongoing Pakistan Super League. In line with his penchant for the extraordinary, Afridi casually threw in his desire to not play any international cricket in a sparsely attended press conference and thus drew the curtain on a twenty-year-old career with the least amount of bother.
“Regrets, I've had a few;”
The Shahid Afridi story began in 1996 with an innings of some ferocity when he scored the then world’s fastest One-Day International hundred in a quiet corner of the cricket universe, Nairobi. To say he never looked back from that style of play would be understating the influence of his debut international innings on the rest of his career. Almost every innings that Shahid Afridi played from then on was an adrenaline charged affair which on many occasions took Pakistan to the pinnacle as it did with their World Twenty20 victory in 2009. However, at other times, it left his team, captain and supporters contemplating the meaning of life as he failed to achieve his ambition of launching every ball to the moon, in every innings. Any lesser human would have withdrawn into a shell of introspection but Afridi strode into the next innings with the same verve and at times, similar results without any regrets.
Reckless and wanton were the words that his critics would use to describe Afridi’s behaviour. But to his multitude of admirers, he was simply aggressive, entertaining and powerful as he demonstrated with his ability to play the big shots. His status as a crowd favourite was no accident and was earned on the basis of 476 international sixes and 1,052 fours which he slammed during his international career. Some called him ‘Boom Boom’ for obvious reasons but whatever the future brings, he will always remain ‘Lala’ as he is affectionately known to Pakistanis the world over.
“Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew; When I bit off more than I could chew”
Afridi played an incredible 523 times for Pakistan, scoring 11,185 runs and taking 540 international wickets. He had the uncanny ability to turn games on their head and to literally take the fight to the opposition. His opponents loathed him, feared him and his fans adored him. Armed with a bat he would target the soul of the fielding side and with a ball in hand, he would look to decimate the batsman facing him. Yes, he was a leg-spinner but he had the heart and mindset of a speed demon. This is what made Afridi so unique in international cricket and this is exactly why people still flock to watch him in action in any match he plays. But then at times his enthusiasm to do good for his team also had the better of him. The famous ball-eating or sniffing incident as he put it, or the now infamous repeated pirouettes on a cricket pitch earned him ridicule, but Afridi was not to be deterred and the love of his admirers remained undiminished.
“I've loved, I've laughed and cried.”
Television producers dreaded it and marketing men thought about it all the time. That moment when Shahid Afridi in a flurry of impossible cricketing shots would depart for the pavilion. What followed that event was a horde of men, women and children of all ages with despondent faces lining up to exit the stadium leaving empty seats everywhere. It was as if nothing mattered to them; win or loss or even the country was secondary when Shahid Afridi began his walk to the dressing room. Tears would flow freely when Afridi was out, grown men would show their despair, but then on the other hand stadiums would be guaranteed a good audience at the mere news of the presence of Shahid Afridi in any game.
“I did it my way”
Whether it was the heaving stadiums in Pakistan in the days when international cricket was played in the country, later on in Pakistan’s enforced exile in the UAE or around the globe, the scenes when Afridi came into bat or bowl or when he left were spectacular. If he hit a six the crowd erupted and would shout ‘Boom Boom’; when he took a wicket the audience would stand in the trademark Afridi victory pose. The word crowd-puller was never used as freely as it was for Shahid Afridi, but what really made him special was that he did not just play the game of cricket or the fact that he brought joy and sorrow to so many. What perhaps sets him apart from all before him and possibly for many years after, was that he was one of the biggest entertainers that cricket has ever seen and for that, all fans of the game will forever be indebted to Afridi. He has stated that his priorities in future lie with his Charity Foundation and playing in some Twenty20 leagues around the world for a year or two. One thing is for certain though whatever he does, like he did with his cricket, he will do it His Way.
“And now, the end is near”
It came out of the blue and whilst there had been murmurs for a few months about Afridi’s impending departure from the international scene with him making clear that he deserved a final grand farewell, there had been no clear indication of when he would leave. But the end of his international career suddenly and unexpectedly came in Sharjah at the end of a particularly brutal trademark Shahid Afridi innings at the ongoing Pakistan Super League. In line with his penchant for the extraordinary, Afridi casually threw in his desire to not play any international cricket in a sparsely attended press conference and thus drew the curtain on a twenty-year-old career with the least amount of bother.
“Regrets, I've had a few;”
The Shahid Afridi story began in 1996 with an innings of some ferocity when he scored the then world’s fastest One-Day International hundred in a quiet corner of the cricket universe, Nairobi. To say he never looked back from that style of play would be understating the influence of his debut international innings on the rest of his career. Almost every innings that Shahid Afridi played from then on was an adrenaline charged affair which on many occasions took Pakistan to the pinnacle as it did with their World Twenty20 victory in 2009. However, at other times, it left his team, captain and supporters contemplating the meaning of life as he failed to achieve his ambition of launching every ball to the moon, in every innings. Any lesser human would have withdrawn into a shell of introspection but Afridi strode into the next innings with the same verve and at times, similar results without any regrets.
Reckless and wanton were the words that his critics would use to describe Afridi’s behaviour. But to his multitude of admirers, he was simply aggressive, entertaining and powerful as he demonstrated with his ability to play the big shots. His status as a crowd favourite was no accident and was earned on the basis of 476 international sixes and 1,052 fours which he slammed during his international career. Some called him ‘Boom Boom’ for obvious reasons but whatever the future brings, he will always remain ‘Lala’ as he is affectionately known to Pakistanis the world over.
“Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew; When I bit off more than I could chew”
Afridi played an incredible 523 times for Pakistan, scoring 11,185 runs and taking 540 international wickets. He had the uncanny ability to turn games on their head and to literally take the fight to the opposition. His opponents loathed him, feared him and his fans adored him. Armed with a bat he would target the soul of the fielding side and with a ball in hand, he would look to decimate the batsman facing him. Yes, he was a leg-spinner but he had the heart and mindset of a speed demon. This is what made Afridi so unique in international cricket and this is exactly why people still flock to watch him in action in any match he plays. But then at times his enthusiasm to do good for his team also had the better of him. The famous ball-eating or sniffing incident as he put it, or the now infamous repeated pirouettes on a cricket pitch earned him ridicule, but Afridi was not to be deterred and the love of his admirers remained undiminished.
“I've loved, I've laughed and cried.”
Television producers dreaded it and marketing men thought about it all the time. That moment when Shahid Afridi in a flurry of impossible cricketing shots would depart for the pavilion. What followed that event was a horde of men, women and children of all ages with despondent faces lining up to exit the stadium leaving empty seats everywhere. It was as if nothing mattered to them; win or loss or even the country was secondary when Shahid Afridi began his walk to the dressing room. Tears would flow freely when Afridi was out, grown men would show their despair, but then on the other hand stadiums would be guaranteed a good audience at the mere news of the presence of Shahid Afridi in any game.
“I did it my way”
Whether it was the heaving stadiums in Pakistan in the days when international cricket was played in the country, later on in Pakistan’s enforced exile in the UAE or around the globe, the scenes when Afridi came into bat or bowl or when he left were spectacular. If he hit a six the crowd erupted and would shout ‘Boom Boom’; when he took a wicket the audience would stand in the trademark Afridi victory pose. The word crowd-puller was never used as freely as it was for Shahid Afridi, but what really made him special was that he did not just play the game of cricket or the fact that he brought joy and sorrow to so many. What perhaps sets him apart from all before him and possibly for many years after, was that he was one of the biggest entertainers that cricket has ever seen and for that, all fans of the game will forever be indebted to Afridi. He has stated that his priorities in future lie with his Charity Foundation and playing in some Twenty20 leagues around the world for a year or two. One thing is for certain though whatever he does, like he did with his cricket, he will do it His Way.
