Shahid Afridi's biography "Game Changer"

[MenInG]

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has promised his fans a no-holds-barred account of his life in his upcoming biography "Game Changer", which will hit the stands on April 30.

Although he has had numerous interactions with the media, Afridi by his own admission has poured his heart on issues in this upcoming book, which he has never done before.

The biography written by well-known TV anchor and broadcaster, Wajahat S Khan tracks the career of Afridi and narrates all the scandals and controversies in the all-rounder's career.

Afridi, 39, remains one of the most popular personalities of Pakistan and world cricket and retired from all cricket in April 2016 after a 20-year international career in which he appeared in 27 Tests, 398 ODIs and 99 T20 Internationals.

Afridi, who led Pakistan in all three formats, is still active in the T20 leagues played around the world and recently appeared in the Pakistan Super League.

Discovered as a 16-year old cricket talent in 1996, Afridi's career has not been without its share of controversies, intrigues, scandals and top cricketing performances easily making him one of the most popular all-rounder's with his penchant for hitting sixes and taking wickets with his fastish leg-spin and googlies.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/spo...er-set-to-hit-stands-on-april-30-1959811.html

 

[MenInG]

Am guessing the movie rights are already being negotiated!

 

[Mamoon]

Should be a fascinating read. Regardless of how one feels about Afridi, there is no denying that he has had one of the most unique and remarkable careers in history.

His journey is not only ripe for a biography/autobiography but a biopic as well, which I am sure will happen in due time.

 

[kingusama92]

Releasing a book at the age of 16 is impressive. Well done.

 

[Savak]

This will be an even bigger hit than Shoaib Akhtar's Controversially Yours

 

[Slog]

Should be interesting

I wish he had hired a proper ghost writer and not his buddy wajahat who is essentially a reporter

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Cant wait, should be a good insight into backroom politics.

 

[Suleiman]

There will be a lot of masala in there for sure. It will be more controversial than controversially yours.

 

[Saj]

These autobiographies are usually a letdown and never reveal what you really want to read about.

I doubt Afridi will go into the full details of the most controversial incidents during his career.

 

[Savak]

Its only 252 pages. That is nothing to be honest

 

[Suleiman]

These autobiographies are usually a letdown and never reveal what you really want to read about.

I doubt Afridi will go into the full details of the most controversial incidents during his career.

I mean it is Afridi, outspoken and not the one to keep secrets. How many Afridi type characters have released an autobio before him.

 

[MenInG]

Cover.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Proud to announce that with every copy of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GameChanger?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GameChanger</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/LibertyBooks_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LibertyBooks_</a> will donate PKR 50 to the <a href="https://twitter.com/SAFoundationN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SAFoundationN</a>. <br><br>Preorder now at <a href="https://t.co/GNM810uT2g">https://t.co/GNM810uT2g</a><a href="https://twitter.com/SAfridiOfficial?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SAfridiOfficial</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/WajSKhan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wajskhan</a> spent a couple of years on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GameChanger?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GameChanger</a>. Check out what they came up with! <a href="https://t.co/SMbyF4Q1XS">pic.twitter.com/SMbyF4Q1XS</a></p>— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/SAfridiOfficial/status/1121230993921323008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[PakLFC]

Rename the book as "slogger"

 

[Markhor]

Will be the biggest work of fiction since Shakespeare.

 

[Josh]

Afridi is too young to be written biography about. In cricket he career was swinging like a pendulum from excellent cricketer to mediocre (mostly on mediocre side). With the social work, he seems to be doing fantastic, could have waited!

 

[MenInG]

Swashbuckling Pakistani batsman Shahid Afridi believes Imran Khan must do more about Kashmir and, India and Pakistan should resolve the issue through a Kashmiri-owned, Kashmiri-led peace process.

He also asserts that “Kashmir belongs to the Kashmiris. Not to Indians. Not to Pakistanis. That debate comes later. But first and foremost, Kashmir is for the Kashmiri people themselves.” Afridi has come out with his autobiography in which tells his life story just the way he bats – instinctively, candidly and with no holds barred.

“Game Changer” is co-written with journalist Wajahat S Khan and published by HarperCollins India imprint Harper Sport.

‘Peaceful Relations With India are Essential’
Afridi says he is a big fan of “what Khan's Naya Pakistan is doing with India”.

“From his peace overtures (I quote his first speech, about Pakistan taking two steps towards peace if the Indians take one step – an approach I personally believe in too) to opening the Kartarpur corridor and releasing the Indian Air Force pilot shot down by the Pakistanis in February 2019 – peaceful relations with India are essential. Both countries, even the subcontinental region, will flourish,” the all-rounder writes.

“However, Imran Khan must do more about Kashmir. We have to resolve that issue. We have to save the Kashmiri people, and we must involve them in the peace process. Nobody in the Indian subcontinent has suffered or struggled more than Kashmiris.”

“So much resources go into guarding this territory. So much goes into policing the Line of Control. So many mouths can get fed, so many minds can be nourished, if India and Pakistan resolve the Kashmir issue through a Kashmiri-owned, Kashmiri-led peace process,” he writes.

Afridi claims that Indo-Pak peace is a whole different argument and boils down to one man: Narendra Modi. He also claims that Khan is “relatively more flexible than Modi ji” and “he has already proven this”.

From his humble beginnings in the mountains of Pakistan's unruly northwest to the mean streets of Karachi and the county parks of southern England, Afridi sets the record straight once and for all.

In his career, Afridi has been many things – the lost kid focused on pulling his parents out of poverty, the desperate captain trying not to snitch on his corrupt teammates, the gallant Pashtun centurion staring down a hostile Indian crowd, and the bad boy at the centre of a ball-tampering scandal.

In 1996, as a teenager, Afridi shot to fame after hammering the fastest ODI century at the time. One of the world's greatest all-rounders, today, he holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the history of ODI cricket, scooping the most wickets in T20s and winning the most player-of-the match awards in the same format.

Once teammate Wasim Akram describes Afridi as brave as a warrior and one of the strongest men he has known.

Afridi says he couldn't vote in 2018 and he regrets missing out; he tried to make his schedules work but couldn't make it back to Pakistan in time.

“The 2018 elections in Pakistan were a landmark one. A cricketer is now the prime minister of the world's sixth most populous country. Unfortunately, these elections came with some serious baggage.

“A narrative that continues to do the rounds is that the polls were not fair. I feel the jury is out on that one: it was a 50:50 thing,” he writes.

“Imran Khan is now the elected prime minister of Pakistan. We have to give him the respect that a prime minister deserves. We have to make things work. As for his vision, I don't have any doubts about Imran's integrity or the goals he has set to achieve – a vision that he calls ‘Naya Pakistan', the new Pakistan. The real question which bothers me, though, is his team selection,” he says. He also says that he knows commenting about the prime minister is easier said than done.

“But there's no doubt in my mind that Khan's niyat, intention, is fine. His ability to execute – rather, his team's ability - is what bothers me,” he writes in the book.

https://www.thequint.com/sports/cricket/shahid-afridi-says-imran-khan-must-do-more-about-kashmir

 

[MenInG]

Lahore: Punjab Sports Minister Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti met former captain Shahid Afridi, ARY News reported.

Boom Boom visited Punjab International Swimming Complex in Lahore. Both Afridi and Rai Taimoor reiterate to work together for the promotion of sports in the province.

“Afridi is our national hero and his services for the game of cricket will be remembered,” Rai Taimoor said.

“In the current financial year, sports facilities in Punjab are being significantly increased. Under the Green Sports Project, sports grounds will be set up at the village level,” he added.

Afridi congratulated the Punjab government on the development in the sports sector. “SBP made history by organizing Kabaddi World Cup earlier this year,” Afridi said.

“After COVID-19 lockdown, I will work with them regarding cricket. We will make important announcements in this regard after Eid,” he added.

https://arysports.tv/punjab-sports-minister-meets-shahid-afridi/

 

[Napa]

the issue through a Kashmiri-owned, Kashmiri-led peace process.

Thanks, but no thanks. Indian citizens do not have the right to secede. Country wouldn’t last very long if they did.

From his peace overtures (I quote his first speech, about Pakistan taking two steps towards peace if the Indians take one step.

Afridi claims that Indo-Pak peace is a whole different argument and boils down to one man: Narendra Modi. He also claims that Khan is “relatively more flexible than Modi ji” and “he has already proven this&#

Oh come on! No one with any sense believes that childish insults like “small man”, “coward”, “Hitler” etc. constitutes “steps towards peace”.

 

[Pakpak]

I can't believe such a mediocre cricketer is a legend who has failed to step up in so many big games.He only is so big because of his looks. With his numbers and stats if he looked like Rahat Ali he would be lucky to be on the back of a Ching Chi

 

[Syed1]

I can't believe such a mediocre cricketer is a legend who has failed to step up in so many big games.He only is so big because of his looks. With his numbers and stats if he looked like Rahat Ali he would be lucky to be on the back of a Ching Chi

Half his matches must have score of 6(2) or 4(2) or 0(1). Can't believe he is considered a legend. Some part of making him a legend must be due to his good looks.

 

[Pakpak]

Half his matches must have score of 6(2) or 4(2) or 0(1). Can't believe he is considered a legend. Some part of making him a legend must be due to his good looks.

It is honestly, like I said if he looked like Rahat Ali or Arshad Khan he would be a nobody.

 

[sweep_shot]

Afridi is an ODI legend. 8,064 runs and 395 wickets.

I know he flopped many times but he could win a game on his own.

 

[Bigboii]

Afridi is an ODI legend. 8,064 runs and 395 wickets.

I know he flopped many times but he could win a game on his own.

He is not a legend but he wasn't a dud either

 

[sweep_shot]

He is not a legend but he wasn't a dud either

He wasn't extraordinary as a batsman or as a bowler. But, he was lethal as a full package.

It is why he did better in ODI than in Test.

 

[UP]

I can't believe such a mediocre cricketer is a legend who has failed to step up in so many big games.He only is so big because of his looks. With his numbers and stats if he looked like Rahat Ali he would be lucky to be on the back of a Ching Chi

You simply can’t deny a fact that Afridi had an immense X factor. He was unlike anybody in the history of cricket. He just had that charismatic aura flowing naturally for him along with natural ability to hit big. Only if he had his emotions checked...

Rahat Ali was a dud cricketer. He seemed miserable out there. Its suicidal to compare Afridi with Rahat/Arshad. If Rahat had that X factor, he would have been a regular also.

Afridi had the ability to change the game, Rahat didn’t. Simple as that.

 

[Pakpak]

You simply can’t deny a fact that Afridi had an immense X factor. He was unlike anybody in the history of cricket. He just had that charismatic aura flowing naturally for him along with natural ability to hit big. Only if he had his emotions checked...

Rahat Ali was a dud cricketer. He seemed miserable out there. Its suicidal to compare Afridi with Rahat/Arshad. If Rahat had that X factor, he would have been a regular also.

Afridi had the ability to change the game, Rahat didn’t. Simple as that.

He had the X factor due to his looks. All his endorsements ads modelling films were due to his looks. If he didn't have the looks he'd be a nobody.