Brother says he sacrificed his cricket ambition to pave way for Afridi's progress

Karachi, August 25(ANI): Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi's brother, Tariq Afridi, has said that he had to put a stop to his cricket ambitions due to family pressure, but he did "pave the way for Shahid's progress".

Tariq, who himself is a former first-class cricketer, said that he worked on making contacts for Shahid.

"...As you know, it's very difficult to play in Pakistan unless you know the right people or have the right contacts. I know from personal experience, that it was very difficult to play for a zone as you just didn't know the right people," PakPassion.net quoted Tariq, as saying.

"Shahid was a little boy then, and I thought to myself that let me make my father happy and study, and maybe I can do something for Shahid as well. Thus, I put a stop to my cricket ambitions and concentrated on my education... This pleased my father as it made him proud that his son had studied engineering from a college - his wish had come true," he said.

"For Shahid, I worked on making contacts. So I tried to understand and identify important people like selectors or the chairman etc - even what news reporters to talk to! I guess, I paved the way for Shahid's progress and in a way sacrificed my ambition," he added.

Tariq said that seeing Shahid play cricket was satisfaction enough for him, and in a way, it did "satisfy my own ambition. Seeing Shahid play for Pakistan was my greatest reward."

Tariq also pointed out that Shahid is the only player in the history of Pakistan cricket who has still made his way into the team after being "out" of it so many times.

"No other player can be out of the team and retain his position - it's very difficult. I would say that he was very lucky but whenever he was in trouble, he would perform well to prove that yes, he had the talent to perform. He was in and out many times and as they say, the lows and highs have been many in his career. That's how its been," he added.

When asked to give his perspective on the future of the Pakistan cricket team, Tariq clearly stated: "If this is how things are progressing, then the cricket team will become just like the Pakistani hockey team - One hundred percent like the dismal condition of the hockey team!" (ANI)