Pakistani cricketers too commercial
Sometimes it is really hard to differentiate between Pakistan’s cricketers and television celebrities, as it has become a routine for many of the cricketers to appear in ads and billboards quite frequently.
It really makes one wonder, how do they find the time to practice their cricket and go to the gyms from their busy schedule of ads, sponsorships and television campaigns.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482, the Pakistan ODI Captain, for instance, comes in a shampoo ad (head and shoulders), a cell phone ad, and digestive tablet ad (hajmola). Mohammad Aamir, before his provisional ban, came in the Pepsi ad “Badal Do Zamana” (“change the times”)
and quite sadly enough, he has changed the times for the worse.
Some of Pakistan’s most prominent cricket players have been seen in Pepsi commercials. They include http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik. Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi have also been in a bank commercial (Habib Bank Ltd). Shaoib Malik and Wasim Akram
have also been in cell phone commercials. Wasim Akram and Shahid Afridi have also come in many food-related ads. Imran Nazir, who used to be one of the openers for Pakistan, has also been seen in the commercial.
Watching the number of advertisements Wasim Akram has come in, it is a relief to see that he has retired from international cricket, as he would have never been able to focus and concentrate on his cricket after becoming such a commercial entity. He has
also started hosting a game show, after working in dance show with his co-host Sushmita http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sen-c89187.
Shahid Afridi seems to be following his footsteps has he comes in so many commercials in very little time. At this crucial juncture, when he is the ODI Captain of the Pakistan side with increased pressure on and off the field due to the spot-fixing scandal
and the team’s losing streak, Afridi should just focus on leading his side and playing good cricket.
However, some cricket analysts maintain that it is healthy for the cricket players to avail sponsorships and advertisements, as through this added income would come, the players would not crave for money coming through mysterious means then. After the entire
spot fixing and match-fixing scandal, maybe it is best for the cricket players to be more commercial. Though, it should not be forgotten that most the agents that make the sponsorship deals with the cricket players are usually disguised match-fixers and bookies
as was in the case of Mazhar Majeed.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mazhar-c75448 Majeed and his brother Azhar Majeed, were known as agents who had worked for the Pakistani players equipment sponsorship when the players were in England. In several interviews with various sport websites, Salman Butt was said to have thanked Mazhar
Majeed for various sponsorships and in setting up of events.
Mazhar Majeed and his brother Azhar were well-aware of the activities of many of the cricket players of the side, and would also write articles on those players for a sports website. Mazhar Majeed was a very close friend of many of the Pakistani cricket
players since the last tour of England. However, the team management and the coaches were quite uncomfortable with Mazhar’s close proximity to the players and they often warned the Pakistani team to be wary of Mazhar Majeed’s intentions. The players were
told not to associate with him or his brother and the coaches and management did not want the players to have agents in their room.
I guess the coaches and management got it right this time around, Mazhar Majeed was reported to have been involved in a spot-fixing scandal with a betting scam worth of 150,000 pounds, there were also charges of money laundering against him.
The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 cricket players are now known to be naïve and green, where they do not seem to be a good judge of character. The players should by now learn to be tactful and wary about who they are making sponsorship deals with, what are their backgrounds,
are they even credible or are they just disguised bookies? The Pakistan cricket players should make a thorough background check on the agents they are dealing with.
Having said that, there is nothing wrong with advertising deals. As long as it not affecting the performance of the cricketer and the agent that he working with is clean and trustworthy. It is a good way of gaining more popularity among the fans and also
gives additional income.
However, the Pakistani players tend to indulge in too many ads, which might de-focus them in their cricket, and the agents are very dubious, thus they should be a touch more careful.
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