It’s just not cricket! Ugly spat resolved
VETERAN Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi and legendary batsman Javed Miandad have resolved their differences after an ugly spat which even saw underworld don Dawood Ibrahim getting involved.
Afridi’s request for a farewell match to mark his retirement had turned into a controversy when Miandad reacted negatively, claiming the veteran all-rounder wanted it for the money.
Miandad had also alleged that Afridi was involved in match fixing and had claimed that he was a witness to such activities.
“I would want Shahid Afridi to swear by his children and say that he has not fixed matches for Pakistan and has not sold Pakistan. I am a witness, I have caught him. I had caught the entire team. These people are fixers and they are talking about money,” Miandad had told a Pakistani news channel.
That prompted Afridi to threaten legal action against Miandad which earned him the ire of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, whose daughter is married to the Pakistan batting legend’s son.
According to a report in siasat.com, Dawood had called up Afridi on October 12 and threatened him with death.
Afridi, who made waves with a record-breaking 37-ball century in his ODI debut innings, told press that Miandad had always had “issues with money”, and that he has evidence that the cricketer had been involved in match-fixing.
But following intervention by several former players, including former Pakistan captains Imran Khan and Wasim Akram, the duo decided to bury the hatchet.
They met at a friend’s place last Saturday to resolve their differences, then released a video showing them offering sweets to each other.
“Afridi is like a younger brother. And I have already stated that everything is finished from my side. A lot of things happen in the heat of the moment. And I know that Afridi is still unhappy with a few things I said, but I take all my words back,” Miandad was quoted as saying in the video message by the Express Tribune.
Afridi confirmed that since Miandad had taken his words back, everything was fine.
“I am happy to meet you. I never wanted you to say sorry to me because you are an elder to me. You have taken your words back and that is enough for me and all my fans. I am also sorry for all things that I said and that might have hurt you,” Afridi said.