Former Prime Minister and PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) needs to give respect to national heroes like Shahid Afridi. While addressing the 'Children Cricket Summer Camp' here at Gymkhana Cricket Club, Nawaz said that Shahid Afridi raised the national flag in India by leading the national cricket team to semi-final of mega-event of World Cup; therefore, he (Afridi) may be treated well.
Nawaz supported Shahid Afridi and said that he (Shahid) believes in teamwork, therefore, he needs not to be given an opportunity of lodging complaints. Briefly talking about country's political situation, Nawaz deplored over undue delay in the constitution of commission on Abbotabad incident. "The system of ad hocism needs to be finished and democracy must be strengthened," he said.
Nawaz, who was in a pleasant mood, also spent some time with the children in Gymkhana Ground. He assured the children that he would talk with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to improve conditions of different grounds including Minto Park in Lahore. He asked the participating children to work hard to achieve success in future.
Nawaz also shared his past memories with Incharge of Gymkhana Cricket Club Javed Zaman and said he had defeated Zaman's team at this ground and treat is due against him. It may be noted that Pakistan coach Waqar Younis and manager Intikhab Alam in their tour reports leaked to media have hit out Shahid Afridi terming him 'immature and unwilling to listen.' Younis wrote: "As a captain Afridi is very immature, has poor discipline, lacks a game plan and is unwilling to listen to others' opinions or advice." The report confirms the existence of a rift between captain and coach during the tour.
Intikhab Alam in his tour report termed Afridi as a "highly hyper-active personality who lacks temperament to listen to other people's point of views or look for solutions for the betterment of the team." On the other hand, spokesman of Pakistan Cricket Board said that Shahid Afridi's decision to retire from international cricket was his personal matter.