Former captains of Pakistan, Shahid Afridi and Javed Miandad have been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. While Miandad has politicized the game of cricket over the past few weeks, Afridi has made sure to attract the social media.
While both have been able to generate a huge amount of attention, former Pakistan fast-bowler Wasim Akram expressed his displeasure on the verbal war. Akram took to Twitter, in order to call an end to the battle. The former left-arm fast bowler called for "appropriate mediation" in the on-going tussle so as to ensure that the issue doesn't get worse.
Akram said on Twitter that it was "really sad" to see the heated exchange of words between the cricketers, adding that the situation called for a quick resolution "instead of this unwanted chaos."
Miandad made the first move
The war of words started when Miandad accused Afridi of demanding a farewell match for the sake of money. Reacting to this, a furious Afridi lashed out at Miandad in a book launch ceremony in Karachi. He said, “Money has always been an issue for Miandad. It doesn't suit a legendary cricketer like him to pass such irresponsible comments.”
Also read: Javed Miandad made “personal attacks”, claims Shahid Afridi
Miandad further took a dig at Afridi by claiming that he had caught him of fixing matches. Talking to a local TV channel he said, "I tell Afridi to swear upon his children and say he has not thrown away Pakistan's matches. I am a witness, I caught him myself."
The issue seemed to end when Afridi decided to apologize to Miandad over his comments. The right-hander regretted his decision to take on the legendary cricketer and went on to apologize over Twitter.
It is to be noted that Afridi quit from the ODIs after Pakistan's dismal performance in the ICC 2015 World Cup in Australia. However, he decided to continue playing T20s.
“Not my job,” says Inzamam
Several Pakistani cricketers have expressed their views regarding the on-going spat between Afridi and Miandad. Earlier, Pakistan cricket board's chief selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq had said that his domain is to select a player and not to give a farewell to any player.
The latest comments from the Pakistani legend, Wasim Akram, is clearly an indication that everything is not fine with the national board of Pakistan and its players. With so many controversies surrounding Pakistan cricket, it only seemed wise of Akram to interfere in this issue.
The Pakistani cricketers and fans will be hoping that the issue between the two players is sorted out sooner rather than later.
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