Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

This is absolutely unforgivable! I am mad beyond measure, not only because it completely hurts the emotions and inner feelings of the entire cricket team in general (well, save for one, of course), it also gives the opposition an upper hand, physically and mentally. Shahid Khan Afridi…this man has been given preference in crowd support over quite possibly our entire cricket team, give or take Inzamam-ul-Haq and/or a couple others. It was a disgusting sight to experience, at least for me (this is two in a row now) to see that Shoaib Malik was heavily booed throughout the God damn stadium, while the majority of supporters had planned something else:

"OMG!@!#$ WE WANT AFRIDI&^()**

“HOLY ****()_—aFRIDI DA SEXIEzzzzzzTTT^&^!!!@@@”

“^%&bO0m b0Om aFrIDi$$$~``~~!@#!@#”

Why in the green heaven do some people entirely support one player in the entire team, so much so that even when your solid middle-class batsman comes out to bat, the only thing you can do is throw hands in the air, and build up your frustration, until…“BOOM BOOM…AFrIdI” walks in? I mean, sure, I look forward to see his performance as well, and want him to play solid innings every time he comes out, but for God’s sake, start treating your team as a unit, rather than entirely depending your lifeless hopes and dreams on the life of one player, and stop treating your team as a separate entity. Why don’t you put yourself in the same shoes as Shoaib Malik, or Abdul Razzaq, and start realizing the fact that this kind of behavior weakens the spirits of the batsman, and it immediately needs to come to a complete halt.

Ludicrous display of “God-like” treatment…An absolutely ridiculous notion, to say the least!

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

Is this your biggest problem in life ?

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

well said …

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

I wouldn't have expected anything less. Just as I suspected...

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

Some1 Bhai and Kman Bhai,

Believe it or not, or just call me an Indian jealous of the Pakistani team,

But I Clearly see (The old) Shoaib Akhter Written all over Shahid Afridi, and even though I am his biggest fan (Ask Ehsan Bhai, I was the one who converted Ehsan Bhai to a Afridi Fan):D.

Success sometimes gets into the players head, and then players start thinking, the team is because of them and not the other way around, which is a great folly, coz the Fan is not stupid, and will ask and demand explanations when you fail to score, specially when the team needs a run a ball, and your strike rate is 150 (or there abouts, am I right???), damn you better deliver!!!!! Or face the Music.

Aejaz

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

^ Doubting Afridi’s commitment? :hehe: Have you been following Pakistan cricket? Afridi has always played this way, it’s the only way he knows how to play and will continue to do so. He gives it his all with bat and ball, not to mention in the field. He isn’t a reliable batsman by any means and the team is well aware of that.

I agree some of our supporters get carried away. Booing someone just because they came before Afridi and leaving the stadium just because Afridi was dismissed is immature. Of course there are favorites in every time but that shouldn’t take away from the rest of the squad.

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

Herein lies my utmost concern. Experiencing the way Malik was being treated by the crowd, not only in this match, but in several others in which he (or someone else for that matter) came in before Afridi, is the severity of the immaturity (as you mentioned in your post). Every time you hear that nightmare, it sounds like Pakistan lost out to India by a wide margin of 420 runs when such a selective group of people (90% of the stadium, at that) decide to raise their voice in this childish manner. I can’t just imagine how Malik would have felt at that point in time, or anyone who is willing to take one step further in their school of thought, and put themselves in the same shoes as the “unfortunate” batsman.

And most of all, such acts are “encouraged” by other people (such as camera-men showing only “We Want Afridi” signs more than 75% of the time on TV). Garbage such as these are shown repeatedly, and no wonder the person sitting at home gets in the habit of creating only Afridi signs so that he/she can get onto the main screen. I am not against the guy, believe me, I am one of his biggest fans as well, but committing such a distasteful act is a slap in the face of the entire nation, as a whole, especially in the face of those people who are completely one-sided, decide to leave the match after his wicket thinking “It’s all over”, and show utter disrespect to everyone who walks out before Afridi. Of course, when the team wins the match, the situation suddenly reverses, but until then, it’s…

!@#$%^b0OM BOOm aFRiDi__==!!

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

He is basically a star with commercial value, just like Sachin and Freddieeeee, so live with it

“BOOM BOOM AFRIDI” will beat any other slogan in World Cup 2007 :slight_smile:

:dhimpak: BOOM BOOM Afridi :dhimpak:

PS: Thats does not mean he is my fav of all but I am just happy for one Pakistani getting a commercial value althouh many of them are great players :slight_smile:

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

Of course, how would I have known that voicing your opinions on this delicate subject matter would always conclude in the end-result of everything being thrown into the trash, while labeling it as “live with it.”

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

Dhobi_bhai: No player should be booed I agree but there is nothing wrong with Afridi being a crowd favourite. Whole aussie crowd goes gaga over Gilchrist. We are a very good team without Afridi but what he brings to the team makes us aggressive and a lot more explosive. This is why crowd loves him. Yes few immature spectators are bound to make those unpleasant boos but majority of cricket-aware spectators dont come to see Afridi and Afridi alone.

Aejaz bhai: I am kinda surprised to read your post. You see old shoaib in Afridi? Well thats harsh on a player who has never issued any heroic statements, nor he claims to be saviour of Pakistan cricket. So thats a rather uncalled for judgement on him. By the way, Afridi himself made a fan out of Ehsan bhai, not you :p

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

If people are crazy about him or for him there really isnt anything you could do about it. Everyone have their own mind and are free to do whatever they please. It's like saying "It's unfair there were so many Pakistani supporters but not English supporters, thats not fair to the English team". People will support whoever they want to support. Same way they support Afridi cause thats what they want so if someone doesnt like it, they'll just have to live with it.

On a seperate note I also say the booing Shoaib Malik when he walked in, those people must have not seen Malik's merciless hitting agaisnt South Africa when he made I think 80 odd off of 40 balls. Malik has matured as a batsmen over the years but he is also a ferocious hitter of the cricket ball and has the ability ot match atleast Razzaq blow by blow. Afridi is in a different category altogather when it comes to clean hitters. He hits the ball with more force then anyone in the world cricket and when he connects it doesnt just clear the ropes it goes into the crowd. The crowd loves it and Afridi's commercial values increases with every six he hits. He is not dependable as a batsmen but he sure is as a commercial commodity.

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

Saby Bhai,

I did not mean that literally, apart from that its not all about running ones mouth, in the international arena, its most of the times about performance, when he came in today the asking rate was really comfortable and manageable, and He could have easily won the game for Pakistan, but he screwed the RR and than got out putting Razzaq ant the tail under tremendous pressure.

Its not that I hold him solely responsible, Moyo, Malik and Razzaq are equally responsible, but lets accept facts when Malik walks in the Crowd Boos him, and they go Boom Boom Afridi when he comes in, and In my opinion that adulation from the crowd deserves an effort to win, and ironically when he gets out the whole damn stadium walks out.

What is it the Pakistan Cricket team, or Afridi against England, and for all you know with this kind of worshipping from the crowd, running his mouth may not be far behind.

Rahi Ehsan Bhai ki baat, I think he can speak for himself, AAp ki wakalat ki koi zaroorat nahi:p

Aejaz

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

Booing Malik was a disgraceul act on the part of the crowd in today's match. They actually cheered when Younis Khan got out as well! Shame on them.

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

He stayed on the pitch for 10 balls and scored 4 runs. Please help us understand, how does anyone “screw up the RR” in the process of facing 10 balls? :stuck_out_tongue:

In any case, Afridi has never really showed any kind of regard for the match situation. Thats not part of his composition. So expecting any different is foolhardy. Accept his game the way he plays it. :slight_smile:

Rahi baat crowd behavior ki… all of us and them (spectators) are cricket fans and like to make our views known. Each of us have a right to express our views. You do that by posting on a forum. They do that by making posters and cheering/booing players. Crickets are supposed to be professionals. So let’s move on. :slight_smile:

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

Just to clarify from my initial thread/post, I was merely connoting to the fact that there are quite a few number of “only” Afridi supporters, who, whilst we look at the same picture and perspective, boo almost the entire team if not for their heroic efforts in order to win the match for their own country. I am definitely not surpassing any sorts of judgments that people should not praise Afridi or anything regarding that effect…of course they should, it is their right to do so! But, all I am asking, and it should be common sense, to at least respect other team members and support/cheer them when they walk in front of you in crunch situations. That is all I am asking.

I agree with the rest of your post, as well as Saby’s. :slight_smile:

Now only if people were to understand the real meaning behind this momumental phrase…

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

Exactly My point Faisal Bhai,

Normally tou he starts smashing the Ball form the word go (His so called Natural instinct for the Bat V/S the Ball), so what was different today, I did not expect anything but his natural game, and thats precisely he failed to deliver.

Rahi Run rate ki baat Faisal bhai you know in the death overs 10 balls can make a ton of a difference, Nahi??? just to give you an example 40 off 4 overs is 10 per over but the same 40 off 2.2 overs becomes about 18 per over, see how 10 balls makes a BIG difference.:stuck_out_tongue:

For once I am feeling great, Damn I have had the opportunity to educate Faisal Bhai:D

Aejaz

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

Hypotheticals aside, when he came in to bat in 42nd over, the RR was about 6/ov. When he was out in 45th over, the RR was 7.2/ov. I won't call exactly call it "screwing up". In "death overs" 7.2 is not difficult either. :)

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

Faisal Bhai For your Perusal, Afridis Shots highlighted to make it easy reading.

end of over 41 (5 runs) Pakistan 159/4 (RR: 3.88 RRR: 48/9 = 5.33)
LE Plunkett 5-0-32-0 (3w 1nb) - Shell End
Mohammad Yousuf 54* (78b 3x4) Shoaib Malik 2* (4b)

41.1 Blackwell to Mohammad Yousuf, OUT: well tossed up, down on one knee
and tried to play a big shot, top edge way up in the air and
Anderson took a good catch at wide of long-on

Pakistan 159/5, Partnership of 7
Mohammad Yousuf c Anderson b Blackwell 54 (79b 3x4 0x6)
Shoaib Malik 2* (4b) ID Blackwell 8.1-3-22-2

Afridi comes in to bat
41.2 Blackwell to Shoaib Malik, no run, short in length, went back and
defended to off side
41.3 Blackwell to Shoaib Malik, no run, arm ball, takes it on the pad,
shot for lbw, declines as ball missing leg
41.4 Blackwell to Shoaib Malik, no run, tosses up, outside off and spins
away, tries to play a late cut, gets beaten
41.5 Blackwell to Shoaib Malik, no run, well tossed up, outside off,
pushed to cover
41.6 Blackwell to Shoaib Malik, one run, short ball, outside off, goes
back and cuts it to deep cover for a single

End of over 42 (1 run) Pakistan 160/5 (RR: 3.81 RRR: 47/8 = 5.88)
ID Blackwell 9-3-23-2 - Pavilion End
Shoaib Malik 3* (9b) Shahid Afridi 0* (0b)

Harmison back for his final over
42.1 Harmison to Shoaib Malik, one run, inswinger, inside edge onto pad
and goes to leg side
42.2 Harmison to Shahid Afridi, no run, short ball, ducks underneath it
42.3 Harmison to Shahid Afridi, no run, full ball, just outside off and
moves away, goes for the drive, gets beaten
42.4 Harmison to Shahid Afridi, no run, short in length, punches it to
pont, Malik wants a single, sent back
42.5 Harmison to Shahid Afridi, one run, short ball, on leg stump,
pulled away to long leg for a single
42.6 Harmison to Shoaib Malik, no run, full ball, driven back to bowler

End of over 43 (2 runs) Pakistan 162/5 (RR: 3.77 RRR: 45/7 = 6.43)
SJ Harmison 10-3-27-1 (4w) - Shell End
Shahid Afridi 1* (4b) Shoaib Malik 4* (11b)

That's the end of an excellent spell by Harmison
43.1 Blackwell to Shahid Afridi, one run, full ball, on leg stump,
driven down the ground to long-on for a single
43.2 Blackwell to Shoaib Malik, FOUR, well tossed up, came down the
wicket and driven over the top of extra cover for four, Great
shot!
43.3 Blackwell to Shoaib Malik, OUT: Gone! well tossed up, came down the
wicket and driven in the air to long-off, mistimes it and Solanki
takes a simple catch

Pakistan 167/6, Partnership of 8
Shoaib Malik c Solanki b Blackwell 8 (13b 1x4 0x6)
Shahid Afridi 2* (5b) ID Blackwell 9.3-3-28-3

Pakistan in trouble now, need 40 runs in 39 balls and 4 wickets in
hand
Razzaq walks in
43.4 Blackwell to Shahid Afridi, no run, tossed up, outside leg, went
for the big reverse sweep, mised it
43.5 Blackwell to Shahid Afridi, one run, full bal, driven hard back to
bowler, half stop by Blackwell
43.6 Blackwell to Abdul Razzaq, no run, well tossed up, defended back

End of over 44 (6 runs) Pakistan 168/6 (RR: 3.82 RRR: 39/6 = 6.50)
ID Blackwell 10-3-29-3 - Pavilion End
Shahid Afridi 3* (7b) Abdul Razzaq 0* (1b)

That's the end of seplended bowling spell by Blackwell
Anderson on
Pakistan need 39 in 36 balls
44.1 Anderson to Shahid Afridi, one run, short ball, outside off, cuts
it to deep cover for a single
44.2 Anderson to Abdul Razzaq, one run, short ball, outside off, cuts it
to third man
44.3 Anderson to Shahid Afridi, no run, good length ball, goes for the
cross batted shot, mistimes it to short midwicket
44.4 Anderson to Shahid Afridi, OUT: Gone! lovely yorker, on off stump,
tries to play across the line, misses it and ball hits the off
stump

Pakistan 170/7, Partnership of 3
Shahid Afridi b Anderson 4 (10b 0x4 0x6)
Abdul Razzaq 1* (2b) JM Anderson 7.4-1-31-2 (2w)

Naved-ul-Hasan comes in to bat
44.5 Anderson to Naved-ul-Hasan, no run, on middle and leg stump, driven
to short midwicket and good diving save by short midwicket fieder
44.6 Anderson to Naved-ul-Hasan, one run, on off stump, pushed to deep
cover for a single

End of over 45 (3 runs) Pakistan 171/7 (RR: 3.80 RRR: 36/5 = 7.20)
JM Anderson 8-1-32-2 (2w) - Shell End
Naved-ul-Hasan 1* (2b) Abdul Razzaq 1* (2b)

Faisal Bhai, where are his natural shots, that fly like a Bird, either into or over the ropes, also note when he walked in the asking RR was 5.88 and when he walked out it was 7.20.

Man with all of you cornering me, I am almost starting to sound like a Afridi Dushman, which I am NOT!!!!

Aejaz

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

You Afridi dushman, you!!! :grumpy:

:smiley:

Re: Completely sick and tired of Afridi being held in a state of favoritism by the crowd!

Aejaz bhai (or anyone who would like to answer): Do you think that Afridi failed to score "brilliantly" because of the immense pressure on him from the crowd, or do you believe the reason was because his entire attention was diverted to his "God-like" treatment from 1/4 of the stadium?