Lala won the heart of his nation even if he didn’t win the World Cup.
Pakistan Skipper Shahid Afridi has been on a roll, not just on the field but also off it. From the get go, he has said and done the right things – and he sure has mastered the art of public speaking.
Confident, eloquent, honest and behind his boys 100 per cent,he’s been nothing short of brilliant behind the microphone, addressing members of the press and audiences around the world.
While it was his post-match presentation ceremony speech in Mohali that clean bowled us, where he apologised to the Pakistani nation for not making it to the final …
… on many other occasions he has been the strong front the Pakistan team needed. His immediate response to Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s statements was that he shouldn’t have said what he did, and later stated: “Rehman Malik made a mistake making those remarks, especially at that stage, and I hope in future he will not repeat it.” In the pre-match press conference in Mohali, despite all the hype about the next day’s match, Afridi was calm and composed. And he put things in perspective.
Asked about an alleged statement he made about not allowing Tendulkar to score his 100th century in the semi-final – which for the record he didn’t, taking a good catch off Ajmal’s bowling after Tendulkar was dropped thrice in his own overs – Afridi had this to say: “I’ve been following the Indian media for the past two days and I have noticed that they try to create a mountain out of a molehill. I didn’t say anything against Sachin; however, if somebody asks me, as captain, I will obviously not say I’ll allow him to score a century,” (see video above – much more interesting to hear in Urdu). Criticising the Indian media further, he said, “The media is at fault for the sour Indo-Pak relations.” Adding later, “This is a huge occasion for us, to come and play in India and cricket has always strengthened this (Pak-India) relationship,” telling them to focus on the positives for a change (see the video at the eight-minute mark).
In the post-match ceremony and press conference…
… Afridi graciously congratulated the Indian team and Indian spectators on their win, commended his boys for making it this far in the tournament, expressing his happiness at captaining such a side, while admitting with honesty that the Pakistan team’s poor batting and fielding performance was inexcusable. About his own batting, he admitted that he failed to do the needful in the semi-final. “In batting sometimes I perform and sometimes I don’t, but for the last four years I’ve been focusing on my bowling,” he remarked in an earlier press conference. And focus on his bowling he did, picking up 21 wickets at an average economy rate of 4.0 with a 5-wicket haul to his name.
Speaking to reporters at his home in Karachi, once again, he apologised – which elicited a similar response to that of the previous apology: that there was no need – for the poor batting performance in particular.
Again, when the Paksitan-India match topic was broached, he set the record straight with the Pakistani media the way he did with the Indian: “Why are we so against India? In every home there are Indian dramas running, we watch Indian movies, our wedding ceremonies follow Indian trends, then what is all the hatred and competition about? Treat a sport as a sport.”
Throughout, Afridi emphasised, “we are a unit,” “the boys are doing a great job” and “I am very happy as a captain.” Rebuilding the team has been an important part of the journey. “We’ve gone through a tough time in the last seven, eight months,” said Afridi, adding, “This World Cup matters a lot to us; we’re trying to bring cricket back home.” And he may have already clinched that deal – word is, Sri Lanka may be touring Pakistan in October-November.
Afridi has tackled questions, criticisms and pressure with seeming effortless ease, all in a bid to keep his boys relaxed and focused on the game. And though Afridi has matured, humour is not beyond him. The man whose antics such as his infamous ‘kiss to Kallis’ keep audiences entertained, he kept it up off the field as well. In the post-match press conference in Mohali, Afridi cheekily added that he did, after all, prevent Tendulkar from scoring a century.
Back home, crediting Pakistan cricket with the feat, he said, “We facilitated a meeting between two prime ministers.” His casual manner at the pre-match ceremony before the Mohali showdown was also amazing.
Not able to hear one question very well, which was about the average age of the Pakistan team being quite young, Afridi remarked: “You’re saying this by looking at me?” (yeh aap mujhe dekh ke keh rahay hain?). And in the midst of responding to two questions asked by one reporter, mid-sentence he halted to say: “Yaar sawal doosra konsa tha bhai,” causing the crowd to erupt into laughter with Afridi himself breaking out into a smile.
Said Afridi: “I’m a cricketer first, then a diplomat. I am the ambassador of Pakistan so I should know what to say.” Well, he certainly did. He kept his nerve and helped keep the team’s. I’d vote for him as our goodwill ambassador any day!
Captain Pakistan Cricket team Shahid Afridi said on Sunday that upcoming visit of Pakistan team to West Indies would be result-oriented. “Our team is in good spirit and high morale,” Afridi said.
Talking to a private news channel, he said new youngsters should be given chance to prove their worth in the forthcoming tour. “Cricket experts, lovers, supporters and family are expecting me to lead the team in the next trip, “ he said. Afridi said that expectations of Pakistani people are too high from the national team, adding that new talented youngsters could help bringing better results in future. He said that India was a favorite team in the mega event and they played well and won the World Cup. Shahid Afridi thanked the Pakistani media and nation over support throughout the event.
In the final buildup towards the World Cup semifinal between Pakistan and India here at the PCA Stadium on Wednesday there was intense speculation on whether Shoaib Akhtar will feature in the match.
“Is Akhtar playing today?” seemed to be the question of the day, at least till the squads were announced after the toss at 2.00 pm today.
The fact that the maverick fast bowler decided to warm up with his teammates ahead of the match only added to the excitement among the local media, especially TV reporters who were constantly sending news back to their respective studios.
But the Pakistan team management’s decided against bringing Akhtar back in the playing eleven. The move has almost confirmed that it’s finally game over the veteran pacer.
Akhtar, 35, had announced that he will retire after the World Cup.
It means that unless Pakistan reach the final and have a change of heart about the mercurial bowler, the last over of Akhtar’s colourful cricket career was the one he bowled against New Zealand at Pallekele (Sri Lanka) earlier this month. Ross Taylor, the New Zealand vice-captain smashed him for 28 runs in that over to effectively end Akhtar’s career. It’s a sad end for a charismatic player, who enthralled millions of fans around the globe with his lightning pace.
Akhtar, according to sources was desperate to play against the Indians but the team management was convinced that he is not fit enough to last his full quota of ten overs. A day before the high-octane match against India, Akhtar voiced his desire to play in it. “This is my last tournament and I want to be remembered as someone who won this semifinal and then the final,” he said in an interview.
“Winning this match and performing well against India, people will remember you all their lifetime and you will be talked about for many centuries. I want to be remembered, I want to do well and I want to give every ounce of what I have left in my body to go out there, provide and deliver.”
Akhtar, who has taken 247 ODI wickets, also spoke on why winning the World Cup is so important for Pakistan. “Pakistan need victory more than any other nation right at this moment.”
Commenting on the trouble Sri Lankan cricket team rain into Lahore few years back, the New York Times drew world attention to the fact that cricket is an important factor in strengthening nationalism both in Sri Lankan and Pakistan as it provides common experience to millions whenever the home team is performing on international stage. Common national experience is assured by popularity of the game in the two countries.
In Pakistan the spirit of nationalism is kicked up manifolds when Pakistan is playing against India, the old rival both in the game and the politics. The match between the two countries could also yield a fair amount of tolerance and goodwill as it happened during Musharraf visit to Delhi and Gilani’s visit to Mohali. In both cases Manmohan Singh was the host and in both cases Indo-Pak bitterness was over taken by cricket’s reservoir of goodwill. Sports could play tremendous role in opening door for peace even among bitterest of enemies. Late Justice Warren of American Supreme Court once remarked his newspaper reading habit saying, “On the front pages I read about man’s failure and on sports pages I read about his success.”
Besides generating goodwill between the two neighbours, the Mohali encounter has with one stroke restored Pakistan’s image of cricketing nation. Over the last several years Pakistan’s image of peace loving nation offering an atmosphere for cricketing has gone down along with what the fame offers in the process of national unification. Our re-entry into the international cricket highlighted by Mohali should revive that reputation.
As regards, Pakistan’s defeat one should not to be too seriously. Among the two contestants one has to loose. In any case India’s victory is not much convincing. With only a degree of improvement in its batting line and fielding, Pakistan could win the match.
Loosing by twenty-nine runs is not much of a defeat. Watching India and Pakistan play in the same segment of time, leads one to conclude that there is not much difference in the capability of two teams. Going beyond the loss or given question in cricket match, curtain has been raised on the prospects of resorting all disputes strong negotiation.
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani joyfully disclosed of an accord to resolve all disputes peacefully. His host Dr Manmohan Singh responded by stressing that a “permanent reconciliation was required with Pakistan.
His Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao went a step further saying “Today it is the Mohali spirit that pervades our relationship. This was extremely positive and encouraging spirit that has been generated” as a revolt of meeting between the two Prime Ministers.
