SHAHID KHAN AFRIDI

9 years ago | Posted in: Sports | 1525 Views

They say all things happen for a reason.

They say all that is good comes to an end.

They say every hello ends with a goodbye.

Today we stand, together as one, waving at him who owns our hearts. That a farewell could mean so much to so many, who knew. Heavy hearts and teary eyes. Only if we could still hold on. Only if time would stop today. One more soaring six, oh please! One more flying stump. Easy it isn’t to let go this way. Where are the trumpets? Someone roll out the carpet! Prepare a feast and call ‘em all! Do it all, do it now. Today is today, unlike any other day. Today will never come again, so say it all and say it now.

We must bid farewell to all those sights we’d wait to see. We must bid farewell to all those sounds we’d wait to hear. Let go we must for surely fate always has its way. Holding on will do no good, for what’s gone is gone. A vessel of hope –that is what he was with his glamorous strokes and magnificent deliveries.

He was hope, a beacon of hope.

He had hearts, millions of them, their deepest corners.

He redefined life, for those who’d forgotten.

He was a way of life, so enigmatic yet so pure.

He’s one of those who’ll be remembered long after they’ve gone.

He marks an era so glamorous, so amazing; I doubt we shall see another as such. Leaving behind the tale of all tales, he walks off. The strongest warrior with the most fiercest tale. A tale to be remembered as his legacy, a tale to be remembered when all seems bleak. We have rounded the corner and started afresh on a different path, a path without Shahid Khan Afridi.

He may’ve gone in and out of retirement several times and made a joke of himself but it was that that gave us some more sixes, some more memories, some more wins. Would you rather he had retired the first time? Would your heart? Dear adults, it’s time to let go of the shell you put on, the one that says Boom Boom is merely a kids’ phenomenon. Let’s speak the truth today for once, shall we? Do not be so inconsiderate as to withhold your true feelings for the nation’s hero, for few have achieved what he has like he has. He flew without wings and conquered without swords. He did not smear our pride and trust when he so easily could’ve. He never betrayed. He was good –in all respects. He always tried no matter what the situation, and that is probably why he is loved so much by so many. That crackling sound off his bat will be missed. That contagious aura, those flaring eyes, that soothing smile will be missed. That hope that he took with him wherever he went will be missed. And for the little I know, he will be missed.

His farewell marks the end of an era –a memorable and classic one at that. But it also marks the start of another, now it is on our young to take us to glory and rest assured, if the previous era was good this will be better.

It will take time to adjust to a ground without him, a scorecard without his score and a line up without his name. The best we can do is send him off with a blast –of respect and love, of adoration and joy.

The clock is ticking, as it always has been. Some have left, some have come, but amongst all those rest assured, Lala, the legacy you have left behind will forever remain up front –and forever is a heck of a long time.

 

By:  Fatima Arshad

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