A View From The Past: Shahid Afridi Interview From '97

Was searching about and dug up this little gem. Quite an interesting read as it portrays a young Afridi handling the issue about his 'real age' and how he wants to 'save his best for India'- Cue the 141 Test score in '99 and the the 45 ball hundred in '05. Also it's quite sad reflecting back and seeing what great hopes this nation had for Afridi.


"In Australia they call him, somewhat grudgingly, "The Kid." But since his debut, Shahid Khan Afridi's biggest dilemma has been his inability to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he is not more than seventeen years old. But there he is, bearing a world record, a couple of one-day fifties, and a full load of Electronic Engineering courses at the Islamic Science College. Naturally, he tires.

At the appointed time, I ring Shahid's suite in the Shalimar Hotel in Lahore where the training camp for the Sharjah tournament is in progress, to discover he is sleeping the peaceful sleep of youth. Moin Khan, the team's wicket-keeper, picks up the phone and apologizes for his room-mate's indolence. "It is eight O'clock and look at him--he is still dozing," Moin says with paternal disappointment. "Wait till Wasim bhai hears about this. We have nets in half an hour. Hold on, I'll wake him up." I picture the young Shahid being kicked in the ribs. Wicket-keepers from Pakistan are no-nonsense blokes.

Moments later, I hear Afridi. "As-salaam-ulaikum. Maaf karna, ji. Thoda ziyaada so gaya. Kal raat bahot der se aaye hum. Pura din practice karte rahe.," he says in an impressively deep voice. Then he wonders if we could converse in Urdu. "I could answer your questions better that way. Or if you wish, let's talk in Punjabi." We settled on Urdu.

Right off the bat, I ask him how old he really is.
"I have just turned seventeen, ji," he says with a politeness that is reminiscent of Mohammed Azharuddin, the early years.
Can he prove it?
"Yes, look at my school records. But I don't have a birth certificate." He doesn't seem unduly concerned.

I take him back to the fourth of October, '96, to the day he made the record that may never be broken. "Actually, they flew me in as a leg-spinner. The evening before, in the nets, I was hitting everybody. (Captain) Saeed Anwar came up to me and said, 'Tomorrow, you will go one down.' I agreed. Saeed said, 'We need 360 + runs to qualify for the finals, so better play fast when you get in.' My luck held and I got the record."

He makes it sound....casual. I urge for more emotion. He thinks for a while and says, "I was very happy." Close enough.

Televisions across Pakistan flickered to life when he slammed Muralitharan for four and smiled his mega-watt smile. A hundred off 37 balls. Within a few hours, Shahid Afridi had become a household name. "Yes, I became very popular after that. It was a very memorable time. Everybody kept calling me," he says, still in a monotone. Then he brightens a shade. "Even girls. So many girls. I got lots of proposals." (In case the nubile are wondering, he has no plans to marry yet.)

Shahid admits he has a unique problem. "I just want to hit every ball out of the ground. I can't help it." He is receiving 'help' from an unlikely source-- Saeed Anwar, not the most intuitive choice to dictate the virtues of slow play. "Saeed often says, 'Play slow. Not every ball can be hit.' He encourages me to spend several hours every weekend in the nets at Gaddafi Stadium. So, from now, I will try and spend more time at the wicket."

His motive is not to dishearten bowlers into early retirement, but to prove he can switch off a few of the rabid strokes and melt into the low-octane world of Test cricket. "I want to be as good as Javed Miandad. He could do anything. To beat him, I must work hard, be more consistent. I have been practicing a lot since the record. Inshallah, I'll be given a chance soon."

"I don't think my game is suited for Test cricket." His candor is refreshing. Indeed, droll flirtations with worthless deliveries have frequently led to disappointing dismissals. "But I am already displaying some patience." He is referring, presumably, to the 53 off 54 he made in the World Series Final #1 against the West Indies in January. It was Shahid's most mature batting turn, with flashes of introspection and tenderness mixed with the trademark manic magic. Best of all, it was a performance grounded in a philosophy surprisingly more substantive than the one that marked his famous hundred. "Mushtaaq (Mohammed) saab has taught me to control my impulsive nature. He says I can do more by doing less." You must watch Shahid mis-sweep extravagantly to understand what Mohammed means.

So is this the end of the kooky crowd pleaser? "No, I will continue to play fast, but I will bat much longer. I didn't know half the things about batting when I made that hundred; but I have learnt and improved, since then." Hear that, bowlers of the world?

Like most Pakistani cricketers, he hopes to play quite outrageously against India. "I nearly cried when we lost the Quarter-Finals of the World Cup (March '96) to them," he recounts. "I don't know when we'll play again but I will save my best for that day."

He cares little that the Australians are picking on his bowling action: "They bring up these issues every time they cannot play a certain bowler."

"I have ambitions, but I will not exploit my good fortune. I entered this team with dignity and that is how I will handle myself. When and if I have to leave, I will do so with honor."

It is strange that Shahid's portrayals with the bat depict him as a frustrated teenager teeming with rage, an obvious ad for hyper-action figures, because in real-life he comes across as sensitive and insecure when he acts the part of the prodigious cricketer. He rarely gives interviews, but when he talks, it is with a humbling serenity that belies his explosive batsmanship.

It will not be long before he is introduced to some disturbing facets of Pakistan cricket. Mercifully, he gives the impression of existing on a spiritual level beyond the grasps of corruption. He is deeply religious and leaves everything beyond his control to Allah. "Cricket is very important to me. But, if I can't be a successful player, I have, Mashallah, my education to fall back on."

He would rather take on his father's business than barge into politics. Mr. Afridi owns a car dealership. And though we can be sure that Shahid will make an aggressive car salesman, we pray that he is not forced to change his occupation any time soon. After all, Shahid Afridi has saved cricket."

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/...850/shahid.html

nteresting bit about him recieving help from seniors

why doesnt anyone come in to help him now?

So much potential ... but really not much to show for it all!!!

sigh

Afridi - what a legend!!!!!!!!!!

As they say - If WG Grace was the one responsible for popularizing cricket then it was Shahid Afridi who saved cricket

He also forgot to mention in that interview, which he did in a very recent one that the night before his 37 ball annhiliation of Sri Lanka, he had dream in which he saw himself smacking Vaas, Murali and Jayasuriya for 6's.

Last night I had a dream that I would be sitting on the computer eating my lunch sometime today. I may of course be lying that I dreamt this in order to look good.

It's not wise to be lying about eating on PC. It is health and saftey issue. My advice would be not to eat while sitting n from of PC. You might not post for couple days or so if you damage anything.

i would have been proud of him if I was following cricket then (I was 5 years old in 1997), this interview can make anyone believe that he's one of the biggest stars of cricket now, but well, he isnt.....great ambitions, too bad he couldnt achieve all of them, at least he did the one about India (45-ball hundred)....

You're blatant hatred of Afridi is hilarious at time, but at the same time disturbing. You should consider getting professional help.

With the same warped logic you use about Afridi then, you should get some professional help with regards to your obsession with Afridi and so called acheivements for pakistan cricket...

In your opinion it is warped logic, whilst others view it as being quite reasonable. There is nothing wrong with having a favourite player and showing your support for him. Whippy has KP, I have Afridi, you have whoever. If you can't recoginise and appreciate what Afridi has done for Pakistan, then well thats up to you, but I am not prepared to do the same.

The difference between your opinion of Afridi and Whippy's opinion of KP is that Whippy is objective in his praise with regards to his hero, whilst you can seem to remove your blatent bias towards Afridi and then proceed to discredit people who don't share in your opinion of Afridi and his contribution to the team, when time and time again he has failed...

I am a positive person and as a result even in a negative situation I will try to find positive things. This probably applies most with regards to Afridi.

I don't mind having an intelligent, open debate with anyone regarding Afridi. However what I won't tolerate is blatant hatred, which then manifests in posts that are of little substance and full of trash.

Anyways...

A thing I've noticed is that during his first couple of years on the international scene, Afridi used to play the majority of his shots with a perfectly straight bat. Over the years, I believe he's started to favour cross-batted shots more and more, and this in some ways has led to his downfall. Have a look at some of his earlier clips [in particular the 37 ball hundred- all the sixes came off a straight bat] compared to ones over the last few years- There's a definite change in technique.

Now come on these wind ups get you every time!

I just feeling nothing but pity towards you!

^ Raz

Was just reading through this again, what an ox-mammoth:

"His motive is not to dishearten bowlers into early retirement."

"It was Shahid's most mature batting turn, with flashes of introspection and tenderness mixed with the trademark manic magic."

"It is strange that Shahid's portrayals with the bat depict him as a frustrated teenager teeming with rage, an obvious ad for hyper-action figures."

And I can't get over this last one:

"And though we can be sure that Shahid will make an aggressive car salesman."

x infinity!

Typical

what a man. Another one for the archives, fellow followers:

"I just want to hit every ball out of the ground. I can't help it." speaks of his violent urges like they are incontrollable diseases

Brilliant thread Blaze!

^ lol Eas, and the funny thing about it too was the prelude to that statement from the mammal where the journalist says "Shahid admits he has a unique problem."

I'm sorry but admitting to having a problem? The whole framework is so bizarre, the journalist himself, even then, understood that Afridi has no faculty of volition, no free will whatsoever

And
What remarkable secondary sexual characteristics due to his titanic quantities of testosterone