A Tribute to Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi is like the assertive Pakistani bahu (daughter-in-law), who is popular among her in-laws for her ebullient nature and ostentatious displays.

She has the knack of alluring people with her flamboyant appearances and charming aura. Even though she does not know it all, she can make people believe that she is good at everything. People admire her vivacity and vocalness, and appreciate her ability to become the life of the party.

People who are moved by such pomp and show will typically overlook the simple bahu who quietly and diligently delivers her duties with care and responsibility. Moreover, since a humble person would not extravagantly showcase her work contributions or flatter her onlookers to win their admiration, the latter does not receive due appreciation or respect.

In a similar way, people who are moved by pomp and show have always associated Pakistan's cricket team with Shahid Afridi even though several great, distinguished players have served the team with humility, integrity, and persistently good  performances beside him.

Afridi has influenced Pakistan's cricket team to a massive extent, but sadly not in a healthy way. No matter how poorly he performed, he has always been celebrated and cheered. However, as Afridi has been repeatedly lauded for his erratic and often regretful performances, motivation of the rest of the team suffered as the actual contributors received sparse encouragement from the audience.

Today, as Pakistan exited the World Cup 2015 with a distressful defeat against Australia, Afridi retires from cricket according to his earlier statement (Reference: http://www.dawn.com/news/1152947).

Finally a reason to celebrate even after a lost match and a lost World Cup!