A very gracious Shahid Afridi not only kept his cool for much of the semi-final clash with India at the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup, but was an example of cordiality as he congratulated the Indian Eleven for getting through them. Even after landing in Pakistan, he was calm and asked his nation to look forward from the wealth of experience his young team gained in their World Cup campaign. So what happened in a matter of hours when he gleefully confessed to a female reporter that his team suffered from the negativity spouted by the Indian media and that the malevolence of Indian players is what makes them better athletes?
Needless to say, Afridi’s interview set off a ripple effect across India. From social media to major newspapers to TV news discussions, almost everyone was more shocked than surprised by Afridi’s two-sided statements. Was he being a sore loser or was there something more to his outburst? We have said in the past that there was immense tension between the two neighbors when they met in Mohali, but from the looks of it, one thing was clear: the team that lost was the first to crack under pressure. But the fact is that if India had lost the match, the emotions of the Indian fan would have forced them to do crazy things, but the eleven Indian players who played the match would not have resorted to the two lines that Afridi towed.
Afridi later told an Indian news channel during a live interview that he had been “quoted out of context”, which is the oft-repeated response to get out of any jam. The first time he criticized the Pakistani media for making every confrontation with India a matter of national pride, a kind of war, while the truth is that Pakistan loves everything related to Indians, from movies to songs and soap operas, and the second time he said that Indian media is negative and Indian players are not as generous as before.
Both interviews are available and Afridi can watch them a million times, as he told the Indian newscaster that he would like to rewatch the videos to see what he said, but the truth is as simple as this. she talks and damn if she doesn’t.
There has been a lot of criticism about the way Pakistan played against India and perhaps over time the relevant questions would have haunted Afridi and other top players like Younis Khan. So could this be Afridi’s ploy to make sure everyone gets busy with his tirade and forgets to ask him about the lives they gave Sachin Tendulkar, his decision to delay hitting power or hit so low he felt he was not? even playing. With the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicking off in a matter of days, no one in India would be interested in how this issue progresses and perhaps that is what Afridi would be looking for. One look at how India overcame Australia, Pakistan and then Sri Lanka to become world champions and no one in their right mind would question Afridi and his team ignoring the bizarre tactics employed by them during the semi-final.
The thing about Pakistan when they play India is that ever since the frantic six Javed Miandad hit Chetan Sharma’s last ball in the 1986 Australasian Cup final in Sharjah, everyone has been hoping for a miracle. In the last 19 years, India and Pakistan have met five times in World Cup matches and with each win the memory of those six fades. Match fixing, substance abuse and a host of other blemishes have marred Pakistan’s image in the world of cricket. Can you imagine any Indian minister ‘warning’ the team about match-fixing hours before their biggest challenge? It is true that they have more prodigious talent than India, but somewhere the Indian system, as flawed as it is, imparts a greater sense of professionalism to its players that makes them better players.
Even if Afridi hadn’t said what he did, things would have been fine. This Shahid Afridi doublespeak is nothing but hot air for a nation that has nothing to look forward to; This is a desperate tactic by a talented cricketer to divert the attention of the compatriots from him until they ignore him once they start cheering on the Indian city teams in IPL!