"Fear of Afridi"- haha!

I'm not that big a fan of cricket these days even though I just the loved the game a few years back. My sisters and I just loved to watch the one-day matches following each every ball, the catch outs, the LBWs and of course the famous "Chakkas and Cahukas" (at which we would scream our hearts out!) We particularly enjoyed watching the Pakistan Vs India matches because they were always smothered in masala and deep-fried in secret scuffles and tussles. There was always a silent icy tension on the ground, the players eyeing each other suspiciously, and some even sharing dark looks. The crowd was always wild and crazy and the players always desperate to win the game as though it were not a game but a war. Seriously! Some might say I’m exaggerating here but, hey, you probably haven’t seen a Pakistan Vs India match then!

I remember this one time when Inzamam was running to take a run and an Indian player , literally, stood in his way, pretending to look out in the field for the ball. Inzamam shoved him aside, they both shared a dark look and Inzamam took the run. That was a classic scene in Pakistan-Indian Cricket. I’m sure it’s there on Youtube!

Anyway, all that was in the past. I don’t like watching Cricket anymore… it isn’t like it used to be. In fact, I stopped watching cricket after the Pakistani team's bad (read pathetic) performance in the 1999 World Cup. It just put me off and I didn't feel like watching Cricket anymore. But then, the day before yesterday, something clicked and I began watching the Pakistan Vs Netherlands match. The wickets started following like dominos and I just couldn’t stop watching! Haha! It was really funny when the Netherlands Captain talked about how they had “Fear of Afridi” in the match ceremony. Fear of Afridi? Ha ha! Afridi is most unpredictable cricketer we have, widely known for his habit of hitting a few chakkas (sixers) and then getting catch-out. However, he is also famously known as "Boom Boom Afridi" because of his sixers and his surprising knack of turning a match around. ... And he also comes in a lot of Shampoo ads. :)

"Shahid Afridi is the maddest of mad maxes"~ Kamran Abbasi (September 2007)