Former Pakistan captain, Shahid Afridi’s brother, Tariq Afridi has said that he has worked very hard to see his brother succeed in International cricket and now it gives him immense satisfaction.
Tariq, who himself is a former first-class cricketer, said that he could not play for Pakistan because of the family pressure but claimed that he did help his younger brother to achieve laurels.
Because of his involvement in cricket, Tariq was a great help for Shahid in the early days and now he is extremely proud of his brother.
Tariq said, “For Shahid, I worked on making contacts. So I tried to understand and identify important people like selectors or the chairman etc – even what news reporters to talk to! I guess. In a way him playing cricket was satisfaction enough for me and in a way it did satisfy my own ambition. Seeing Shahid play for Pakistan was my greatest reward.”
Shahid has been a great servant of Pakistan cricket over the years. He still holds the record for the fastest century in the history of One Day International cricket (ODI). He also holds the record of most number of sixes by a player in ODI cricket. Apart from his hard hitting skills, Afridi is one of the leading spin bowlers in limited overs cricket at the moment.
The all-rounder led Pakistan to the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 but he was later removed from the captaincy after violating the code of conduct of Pakistan Cricket Board. After the tour of West Indies earlier this year, Shahid announced a conditional retirement from International cricket.
While talking about the past of his brother, Tariq said that Shahid got picked for Pakistan Under-19s for the tour of West Indies in 1996 and he was called from there to the senior team in Kenya, as a replacement for Mushtaq Ahmed.
“Continuing with the same level of performance, he went to the West Indies with the under 19 team. It transpired then that Mushaq Ahmed was declared unfit in Kenya with the senior team and Shahid was called as cover,” he added.
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