As a young boy in a family of seven cricket-mad brothers, Pakistan pacebowler Shaheen Shah Afridi immersed himself in the sport — even whensleeping.
“I used to come home after training and he would take my pads and somehowwear them to bed,” said elder brother Riaz, a decent player himself withone Test cap to his name.
“He would place the stumps next to his pillow and dream of playing,” hetold AFP.
Pakistan’s hopes of winning the World Cup in India will rely heavily on thelanky 23-year-old Shaheen turning those dreams into reality.
The team were recently deposed as the world’s top-ranked ODI side by India,and a less-than-stellar performance in the recent rain-hit Asia Cup won bytheir bitter cross-border rivals has some fans questioning the side’scommitment and ability.
Nobody can doubt Shaheen’s devotion to the sport, however.
Hailing from Landi Kotal — a town near the Afghan border with a notoriousreputation for smugglers and drug traffickers in Pakistan’s rugged KhyberPakhtunkhwa province — Shaheen dedicated himself to cricket as soon as hecould hold a bat.
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“His commitment to playing was matched only by his dedication to watchingmatches,” Riaz said.
“His mood would sour if Pakistan lost a match, and things would only returnto normal when Pakistan won, or if he performed well himself on the field.”
He is now one of the most feared opening bowlers in any form of the game.
“In my early days, I used to throw the ball in school games instead ofbowling it,” Shaheen recalled.
“Riaz bhai taught me to bowl properly, and encouraged me to bowl fast.”-APP/AFP
