Shahid Afridi has finally accepted the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) offer of a farewell reception, which will include a lap of honour at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.
The hard-hitting all-rounder, who is currently in Lahore to witness the World XI versus Pakistan matches, had earlier declined several offers in this regard. The cricketer and the board had developed differences in 2016 in connection with his ‘farewell’ after retirement from international cricket.
According to the new arrangement, a short ceremony will be held in honour of former captains Misbahul Haq and Shahid Afridi before the commencement of the T20 match between Pakistan and the World XI team. Both former cricketers will also take a lap of honour of the stadium.
The ‘lap of honour’ is a fresh trend in the world of cricket, allowing audiences to send off their favourite players with a standing ovation.
Media reports suggested that Afridi was recently asked by PCB Chairman Sethi to do a lap of honour with the World XI and Pakistan players in the last T20 match, to which Afridi had agreed.
However, in a later development, it was revealed that Sethi had in fact asked Afridi to attend a reception at a local hotel on Thursday and accept an award from the PCB on stage before the lap of honour at the Friday match. Afridi had declined Sethi’s suggestion and said that he would be sticking to his earlier decision of not taking any farewell from the cricket board.
Sources said that the all-rounder was obviously displeased by the ‘deal’ offered by Sethi, which explained why he stayed away from the awards ceremony held in Lahore on Thursday. Senior batsman Younis Khan too had refused to attend the event despite several reminders from the PCB.
