AFRIDI RISES!

“Of Shahid Afridi it can safely be said that cricket never has and never will see another like him. To say he is an allrounder is to say Albert Einstein was a scientist; it tells a criminally bare story.”- Osman Samiuddin. (ESPN Cricinfo)

The blue-eyed boy of the cricketing world, the darling of the crowd & the heartthrob of millions of girls, Shahid Khan Afridi, is back with a bang. A bang that sent the ball from a cricket stadium to a golf course! He confounded his critics with a stupendous knock of 88 runs against South Africa in Johannesburg. The seven mammoth sixes that he hit during his innings not only turned some heads but also changed some opinions. They sent in a clear message to the cricketing fraternity to beware, Afridi is still very much in the game.

Afridi, who had been out of form since almost a year and a half, was suggested by senior players and critics to retire from the game. But being the tiger that he is, Afridi did not give up. He worked and trained assiduously & got the reward. He was advised to bat calmly, but how can you ask a lion to act like a cat? Can you? Ofcourse, you cannot. You have to let him predate in his own style. Afridi might have been criticized a hundred times for his madcap batting, but admit it, that’s what we love about him! We love the smasher Afridi, we love the hitter Afridi, we love ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi!
This ravishing crowd-puller has a fan following second to none. These die-hard Afridiites did not turn their backs on him when he failed to perform during World T20 ’12. They did not leave their star alone when he again failed during the series against Australia in UAE, and still again against the arch-rivals India. Had it not been for the support and love of his loyal fans, Shahid Afridi would have called it quits long ago. These fans knew that the dark clouds hovering above their Afridi bhai’s career would soon move away.
With his astonishing performance, that can easily be called the GRAND-DADDY of all performances, Shahid Afridi has once again raised the hopes of his fans in specific, and the people of Pakistan, in general. Now it’s up to him not to disappoint them and give memorable performances one after another. It can certainly be said that the days are back when you will see him sending the ball all the way into the tiers. The days are back when you will see bowlers shaking at the sight of the 'lethal' Afridi.
 
Shahid Afridi is not going anywhere. He is here to play for a couple of more years and that is what everyone had wished for- to see him back in action- because cricket is not cricket without Afridi. Afridi the batsman has risen; let’s hope Afridi the bowler rises soon too!