Shoaib Akhtar Backs Shahid Afridi Claim, Says Senior Players Wanted To Beat Him With Bat

Shoaib Akhtar came out in support of his former Pakistan teammate Shahid Afridi after the latter created a storm with some revelations in his recently-released autobiography 'Game Changer'. The fast bowling star agreed with Shahid Afridi's claims that the all-rounder received "harsh treatment" from senior players, adding that he wasn't treated well either during his playing days. Talking about an incident, Shoaib Akhtar said: "Once during a tour of Australia, four players approached with the intention of hitting me with a bat." Afridi, in his autobiography, has claimed that he received harsh treatment from his seniors during his playing days. Citing one example, he said former Pakistan coach Javed Miandad did not let him participate in the batting practice session before the Chennai Test against India in 1999.

"I think Shahid Afridi has written less in his book about the harsh treatment he received from senior players during his playing days. I witnessed some of it with my own eyes and totally agree with him," The Express Tribune quoted Shoaib as saying while speaking during a show on a local sports channel.

Afridi, in his book, has written that Miandad even forced him to praise him during the presentation ceremony after which the former T20 captain lost all respect for Miandad. 

Shoaib, while backing Afridi's claims, said that ten senior players had later asked the two of them for forgiveness for their behaviour during the playing days.

"Later down the years, ten of these senior players asked us for forgiveness, before leaving for Umrah, for the way they treated us," Shoaib said. 

Earlier, out of favour Imran Farhat had lashed out at Afridi, saying the former all-rounder was a "selfish player" who ruined many careers for his own good.

In a series of tweets, Farhat said he was ashamed to know that Afridi, who lied for 20 years about his age, is naming and blaming some of the legendary cricketers of Pakistan.

(With IANS inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team Shoaib Akhtar Shahid Afridi Cricket