Not averse to joining politics: Shahid Afridi

Pakistan’s former captain Shahid Afridi has said he is not averse to joining politics in the future after he moved his residence from his hometown Karachi to capital Islamabad. Afridi was born in the northern tribal area of Pakistan but since childhood he spent his entire life in Karachi. However, on Saturday, he confirmed he had moved to Islamabad.

Asked if this was because he was now thinking of joining politics, he made it clear that for he would not be joining politics for now. “I want to see Pakistan prosper and I think that is only possible if a government and other important institutions are allowed to complete their constitutional terms,” he told the Jang Newspaper.

“Pakistan and Pakistan cricket has given me everything, fame, wealth and I would definitely like to do something for my country,” he said. In the past Afridi has always negated queries about whether he would join politics. He would not be the first Pakistani cricketer to join a political party as not only did the great Imran Khan formed his own party but also went on to become the prime minister of Pakistan.

Imran’s new ball partner, Sarfaraz Nawaz, also joined Pakistan Peoples party and was minister of sports for a while. Afridi said he had been offered government positions in the pasts but he didn’t accept them because he didn’t want to just hold a portfolio but wanted to leave an impact on the country’s scenario.

PSL Auction: PCB thinking of introducing new concept

Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board is thinking of introducing a new concept called ‘drauction’ in the Pakistan Super League amid a clear divide among the eight franchises over the introduction of a player auction instead of the prevailing draft system.

The Governing Council of the PSL which met in Lahore on Friday with the owners of all franchises agreed to experimenting with the ‘drauction’ concept of getting local and foreign players. The PCB has not elaborated on what ‘drauction’ is but an insider said it is likely to maintain a draft categorised system for local players and an auction for overseas players in the PSL.

 Some franchises have argued in favour of an auction system pointing out that with the PSL now being held in the same window as the Indian Premier League, a lot of the unsold players in the IPL auction would only be available for PSL, if they fetched competitive prices in an auction. Some of the franchises have raised concerns that a players auction would test their finances as their allocated USD 1.3 million purse for the players draft would have to be increased for an auction system. The council meeting confirmed that the PSL’s 11th edition would start from March 26. The meeting also discussed the schedule and venues for the next edition of PSL.