Karachi: Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has backed the claims made by his ex-teammate Shahid Afridi in his latest autobiography titled ‘Game Changer’. 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.
Backing Afridi’s claims, Akhtar said he too received harsh treatment from senior cricketers during his playing days. “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 Akhtar 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. Akhtar, 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,” Akhtar said.
While talking about his past experiences, Akhtar said four players were about to beat him with a bat. “Once during a tour of Australia, four players approached with the intention of hitting me with a bat,” said the 43-year-old. 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.