Pakistan media let Shahid Afridi down

Miandad's real shame

In an extraordinary outburst against Shahid Afridi, Javed Miandad cursed the Pakistani captain on national news channels for his "got more love in India" comment. He then went on to ask Afridi: "What has India given us in the last four-five years?"

He said that these cricketers should be ashamed of themselves for saying such a thing. Why Miandad specifically asked about the last five years? Does it have anything to do with his Indian visa controversy in 2013?

It seems he has been a little angry with India over the past few years. Ever since 2005, when his son, Junaid, married Mahrukh Ibrahim, the daughter of Dawood Ibrahim, the Indian terrorist wanted in connection with the Mumbai blasts of 1993, Miandad's relationship with India has been windy.

Following his son's marriage, a decision was taken in 2005 by India that as a close relative of Ibrahim, the Pakistani cricketer won't be allowed to visit the country. Yet, in 2013, he was granted a visa as an official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for to watch a match in Delhi; he later cancelled his trip. While the likes of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja, Waqar Younis, Inzamamul Haq and Shoaib Akhtar will be part of

WT20 in India in personal or official capacity, Miandad will be deprived of watching matches on Indian grounds or even offering analysis for India television channels.

Actually, his anger wasn't directed towards Afridi and he was rightfully asking himself, "What has India given us?" for he has not been given anything and it could be a long time before he can be given anything.

Thekedar of "patriotism"

A self-proclaimed thekedar of "patriotism", this anchor-person decided to give a befitting reply to Afridi. He seeks permission from Mohsin Hassan Khan and then, on air, curses: "Laam, ain, noon, tay" or "lanaat on the Pakistani captain".

Mohsin Khan thoroughly enjoyed the moment. Later, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority (PEMRA) issued "showcause notices" to both the media channels for violating electronic media code of ethics and using abusive language against Afridi.

Raveena Tandon and the sister she never had

These days, news anchors want politicians to comment on everything under and beyond the sun. Here, Nabeel Gabol, a politician from Sindh and former federal minister, gives us "inside information" on what prompted Afridi to make the statement: "Shahid Afridi met Raveena Tandon's younger sister at night, who gave him a lot of love…now if he doesn't get that kind of love in Pakistan then why is he blaming us?" he asks vulgarly.

Now that's a different matter altogether that the famous model-actress of the '90s doesn't have a sister at all who could give him the kind of the love Mr Gabol was so sure about. He then tells us how hurt he is because of Afridi's statement: "It was Pakistan who made him Boom Boom Afridi..." Wrong again, it was Indian commentator Ravi Shastri who gave him the title Boom Boom, after Afridi's 45-ball 100 in Kanpur in 2006.

Afridi - the new Adnan Sami

The new conspiracy theory is that the Pakistani captain wants an Indian citizenship and that's the real reason behind his statement. We are told he is the new Adnan Sami Khan, he wants to play in the Indian Premiere League (IPL), start commentating for ESPN and mint money from Indian pay masters. Not that we could understand what stops Afridi from achieving all these post-retirement goals. Did Ramiz Raja, Wasim Akram or Shoaib Akhtar seek Indian citizenship to pursue careers in cricket commentary for Indian sports channels?