Ram Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 Just like how Sanjay Manjrekar manages to fool the entire Pakistani mass with his occasional ‘Oh my gaaaaaaad, these Pakistani phaaaaaaast boilers give me goose-bumps..’, it seems like Afridi has managed to do the same with the significant contingent of the Indian populace. Remember, this is a guy who deliberately chewed ball in front of 22 Hi-Def cameras not once, but TWICE, to make sure he got caught and win over the sympathies and support of the Pakistani fans. Pretty much everything he does is for effect. The comical haste with which he congratulated the Indian team and wished them good luck for the finals belied the suspect intentions that lay underneath (i.e, IPL contract, big $$$).
King Tendulkar Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 Everyone loves a graceful, dignified and humble LOSER!:--D
singhprakash72 Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 I am not sure about Afridi but Pakistan played a good game for which they should be complimented. It sure was a close match and decisive factor was India's discipline against Pakistan's inconsistency. Full marks to Pakistan for making a match out of it, they have nothing to be ashamed of.
Homerus_Unus Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 I don't know about anyone else but I rarely see a lack of humility by anyone postmatch, despite what everyone says about Sanga etc Fair enough he has not blamed anyone, but it seems a low bar set just coz it's Afridi. Bingo! I think the Indian fan-base is quick to lavish praises upon him simply because he didn't do a Shoaib Malik circa 2007 T20 world cup or say something similarly retarded. It may seem like he's changed/matured, but I need more evidence than a few games to convince me. He isn't that far removed from his ball-chewing idiocy.
Misu243 Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 Definitely agree with OP. It is time that we move on guys and give credit where its due. Forget about past instances. Focus on his performance and leadership skills. His bowling has been absolutely impeccable. However, he needs to work hard on his batting which has clearly gone down the drain. As far as captaincy, he seems to be the leader that will take Pakistan to new heights from now onwards. Good luck to him.
DomainK Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 We don't know what was in his mind, but the act was dignified and should be viewed as such. However, he will have to more of that to convince people of his dignity. We have witnessed far too many undignified acts to be misled by a few words.
vpg0002 Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 From all most nowhere he made this Pakistan team believe that they are world beaters and they exceeded so many expectations and will well to reach the top 4. They gave India a good run for the money. Good luck to Afridi and Pak administration in shaping up cricket in Pakistan.
ganeshran Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 Afridi scores low on - Integrity, absolutely brainless batting. Afridi scores high on - Good leadership, ability to inspire Pakistan to play as a team, very good bowling
goose Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 His press conference before the semi-final made me laugh! whatever we think of him, it's easy to see why Pakistanis like him. On the other hand most Pakistanis i know reckon Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh, with their bravodo and in your face attitude are complete tw%ts.
Homerus_Unus Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 His press conference before the semi-final made me laugh! whatever we think of him' date=' it's easy to see why Pakistanis like him. On the other hand most Pakistanis i know reckon Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh, [b']with their bravodo and in your face attitude are complete tw%ts. Haters gonna hate. Yea I know how cliched that sounds :p
WC2011INDIA Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 Maybe he was being nice to get a future IPL contract!!! Won't be surprised if next year he and some other Pakistani players are part of IPL.
WC2011INDIA Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 ^^ Conspiracy theories :facepalm: Dude there is no conspiract theory there. He graciously accepted the loss, which is nice of him. But I bet deep down he is hoping to get an IPL contract after being so nice in the post match conference. Afterall, PCB do not treat their players well at all.
ganeshran Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 ^^ I dont think any Pakistani player will get an IPL contract by virtue of being nice at the post match conference. Pakistani players will show up in the IPL the minute the government gives a go ahead to BCCI.
Homerus_Unus Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 ^^ I dont think any Pakistani player will get an IPL contract by virtue of being nice at the post match conference. Pakistani players will show up in the IPL the minute the government gives a go ahead to BCCI. Doesn't hurt to try? Truth is neither you nor I can say that he isn't sucking up to the Indian populace, but I can assure you this wouldn't be the first time someone did that for monetary reasons. Wasim Akram does suck up to India on occasion, even when it isn't necessary for him to step in and defend us e.g., his telling off of Matthew Hayden vis-a-vis "3rd world" remark. That said, I see nothing wrong with it. Man's gotta eat.
veer Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 I was bit surprised cuz he didnt say 'first of all I want to thank allah'... he says that every time even when they lose.. so whey didnt he say that yesterday?? i liked his interview too.. but then again that question comes to my min..
Ustad Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 before the match.. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsp9Ph1-lLo]YouTube - Shahid afridi stunning press conference before indo-pak sami final wc 2011[/ame]
Ustad Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 There’s a lot to be said about the cricket tournament, especially our match against India. And it has a lot more to do with Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Gul’s bad luck, and Sachin Tendulkar’s good fortune. Cricket speaks to our nation in a way our government never has. And Shahid Afridi addressed the nation in a way our president never has – unselfish, genuine, modest. So when Afridi apologized to Pakistan, millions listened and were humbled by the gesture. Our eyes filled with tears and our hearts with love and strange kind of sorrow. Shahid Afridi, you need not apologize to the nation. We are proud of you and our entire cricket team! You didn’t bring back the cup, but any excitement, any happiness, any hope that Pakistanis have felt in the past few months is because of your brilliance. We’ve been hearing a lot of “Pakistan needs something to celebrate,” but what Pakistanis really needed was something to look forward to, and the green team gave us that with the anticipation of each game played. The funny thing about cricket is that it can unite the nation through a victory or a loss. It would have been wonderful to go out on the streets and celebrate with dhols, etc, as we did when we won the 20/20 Cricket World Cup in 2009. But even after our loss yesterday, the people of Pakistan, in their state of disbelief, came out and shared their sorrow. Misery loves company. Cars on streets, people driving around slowly, quietly, patiently. No honking, no cursing, no where to go, no where to escape. It was surreal. This only goes to show what cricket means to us and the massive void it fills for our nation. Cricketers, you made us patriotic. You made us passionate. You made us proud.And these precious adjectives are some that Pakistan rarely gets the chance to associate itself with. So again, Afridi, your apology is appreciated but not needed. You conducted yourself with patience, grace and dignity, encouraging your own with a smile, and congratulating the opponents with an even bigger smile. You didn’t win the semi-finals, but you won our hearts. Thank you for showing the world we are not an aggressive nation. To Pakistan, I propose this: if there’s anyone who needs to apologize it’s us. So to Afridi and the team, I apologize for the pressure I put on you to win the World Cup. It comes from my own shortcomings. So lazy and so cowardly am I that I am incapable of creating for myself a reason to celebrate Pakistan. Since as far as I can remember, my patriotism has tenaciously clung to cricket. It is unfair. I know. To those Pakistanis who thought this was a match between Hindus and Muslims, I’m glad India won. This was never a battle between nations, or a jehad against Hindus. It was a semi-final cricket match, and if a loss is what it took to be reminded of this then I’m glad we lost. Victory would have only made you gloat over something you had wrong all along anyway. However, if there was one thing I was relieved to discover it was that we don’t hate India. Some of us may hate America, but we don’t hate India. No burning of the Indian flag, no bitter remarks, no threatening reaction. Phew! Just healthy competition and a pure love for the game. So we don’t hate India. In fact, we hate Zardari. What pleased me even more were the numerous text messages and facebook statuses I came across that poked fun at Zardari. My personal favourite is, “We congratulate India on winning the semi-finals. As a good-will gesture, India can keep Pakistan’s prime minister. And if it wins the finals, we will give our president too.” Ahhh, Zardari jokes. They never get old. He’s our scapegoat now. It’s his fault we lost. Somehow. That being said, think. It’s time we stop asking of our cricketers something we should have been asking of ourselves. Or our government. Lets find ourselves a reason to be patriotic and celebrate Pakistan, and let cricket be a sport, not an identity. If we all just took a little responsibility, maybe our beloved team can finally approach the pitch as cricketers, not as soldiers entering the battlefield. We owe it to them. Welcome back, boys!
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