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Shahid Afridi says it wasn't easy to convince his father to let him play cricket

Shahid Afridi says it wasn't easy to convince his father to let him play cricket

Shahid Afridi encourages parents to stop obsessing about grades with Zindagi Trust's #MoreThanMyMarks campaign.
Updated 06 Apr, 2019

In Pakistan, it's no secret that we take school grades very seriously.

And while academic achievements are important, we sometimes forget that there's more to life and success than just your report card.

Shahid Afridi recently took to Twitter to share a personal story about how he stuck to his passion for cricket and convinced his father to let him pursue the sport:

In the video, Afridi says, "When I first started playing cricket, things were a bit difficult for me. My father was against my playing cricket and I was scolded and beaten quite a lot."

However, things changed when his father read about his first stellar performance in an under-16 tournament, where the reporter lavished Afridi with praise for taking five wickets in the match.

"My father saw my photo and read the praise written about me. I saw the look of joy on my father's face and was comforted knowing that my family will finally support my dream to play cricket. I realised this was the time to prove myself. It was a big change in my life."

Singer Shehzad Roy, who is also the CEO of Zindagi Trust, thanked Afridi for sharing his inspirational story:

Earlier, Fahad Mustafa had also shared his story about how he realised his true potential:

And Shehzad Roy too had a story to share:

Zindagi Trust's #MoreThanMyMarks was launched in March with the aim of encouraging a holistic perspective towards children's achievements.

Comments

Patriot Apr 06, 2019 12:33pm
Do not worry about grades? Really? No wonder most of the Pakistani players cannot string a sentence in English. Compare that to India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh majority of whose players speak good English. Education is the most important gift that you can give your child.
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Chinpaksaddique Apr 06, 2019 01:07pm
Sadly his father wasn’t able to convince him.
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Uzair Apr 06, 2019 01:07pm
Its not about "MoreThanMyMarks". Really, it isn't. Its more about blurred line between respect and honor of parents and personal choice. More often than not, people confuse career choice as a matter of obedience and disobedience. Becoming a doctor or an engineer, both require higher marks and both enjoy similar status in the society, but I had to abandon my passion, because doing so otherwise, would have been disobedience to parents. I am a doctor now, and its alright. But the joy, and enthusiasm that I remember from years back, just can't be had. And I believe this is a major reason for mediocrity we find in our society.
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M. Saeed Apr 06, 2019 01:11pm
Exceptions don't make the rules. Almost always, father's observations and advice are the best for his child.
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Mani Apr 06, 2019 02:55pm
@Patriot Nothing wrong in speaking one's native language over a foreign language. Are Chinese ping pong players or German and French footballers also illiterates because they can't communicate well in English? These ideas usually stem from nations with slave mentalities.
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HAMIDULLAH GIRI Apr 06, 2019 03:25pm
@Patriot so Mr parrot education means English to you
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Coffee_Wala Apr 06, 2019 03:48pm
His father was right!
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Zak Apr 06, 2019 05:16pm
@Patriot you are wrong. Simply speaking English does not mean you are educated. Pakistani players are educated in urdu but some dont speak English well. But on the field their talent does the talking, no language needed for that.
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Abid Apr 06, 2019 05:17pm
@Patriot when you have inferiority complex you make such statements as yours.
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Zee Apr 06, 2019 09:03pm
@Patriot i dont think many of the english players can put a sentence togther in urdu either. Speaking english is not a requirment of a cricket player
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