A recent news article in a paper (The News, Tuesday 11th May, 2010), stated that Shahid Afridi, the unpredictable and enigmatic captain of the Pakistan T20 cricket squad is once again in hot water. He made some remarks about the selection committee for the squad that was sent to the West Indies for the T20 World Cup that is currently going on. What is shocking about everything and anything that Afridi does is that somehow he manages to walk away scot free. Ok maybe not exactly free, he is sometimes fined some amount of money but it doesn’t really matter to him because a couple of endorsements later and his finances are back in the black.
Afridi was recently seen making a statement saying that he didn’t agree with some of the selection decisions that were being taken by the selection committee for this T20 tournament. It seems he wasn’t too happy with the choice of some players that were added in the team and he would have preferred a few different choices. He was completely ignored and his recommendations were steamrolled over and now the chairman of the Pakistani cricket board is deciding whether to take disciplinary action against him.
The odd thing about this latest episode in Afridi’s colourful past is that it doesn’t seem all that intense or controversial. If we think about it, all he said was that he didn’t agree with some of the choices that were made in the squad. It is the same way as disagreeing with your boss in a board meeting about some of the decisions made the past month. You would definitely make an enemy out of your boss and it is always intelligent to keep your boss sweet, but it doesn’t seem likely that disciplinary action would be called against you for it. It might I don’t know because never having challenged any boss I am yet to experience what exactly happens in this situation.
Now in my view it seems like the Pakistan Cricket Board is very strange. They get all huffy and puffy over a few comments but hand out the lightest punishment for proven ball tampering charges. When Afridi was caught chewing on a ball to get it to swing more and get people out, he was left off the hook very lightly with a slight slap on the wrist. But then he makes a few comments about selection choice and he is facing disciplinary action. Why isn’t the cricket board consistent in its decisions? It seems like Afridi being the top T20 player in the Pakistan team and current captain can get away with a lot. He probably realises that the Pakistani team needs him as its captain and so since he is valuable he knows the cricket board will not get rid of him and so he can basically do or say what he wants.
This situation has two sides to it, both of which are manipulating the other. The Pakistan Cricket Board is able to manipulate Afridi by making him captain and telling him that they need him while grooming others to dethrone him and take over his place soon. Afridi on the other hand is a big manipulator because he knows the PCB needs him because they have no one else to become captain and so he thinks he can do whatever he wants and he will get away with it. If the PCB hadn’t given him so much leeway and seriously punished him the last time he messed up they wouldn’t be in this situation at the moment. Afridi is taking them for a ride and they are being dragged along kicking and screaming.
It seems Afridi is able to manipulate the fans and his sponsors as well. He is caught jumping on the pitch to try and influence the ball to swing and he is caught trying to eat a ball to make it swing more and then he comes on TV and apologises (not enough in my view) and says he was doing it for his country and everybody lets him off the hook. Here is a man who has been proven to tamper the ball and the pitch to try and influence the outcome of the match and everybody forgives him for it. His endorsements are all intact and he has managed to get a few new ones, which I cannot understand the logic behind. He did something wrong and people still love him. Well whatever the reason it all seems to be a part of Afridi’s undying charm or disguise that he pulls over everyone and sure does a great job at it.
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