'Cricket? Not for my girls': Shahid Afridi slammed for not allowing his daughters to play cricket for religious reasons

From his age to his controversial remarks on Javed Miandad, legendary Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi’s autobiography titled ‘Game Changer’ has been the talk of the town.

He called out Waqar Younis for his skills as both captain and coach of the Pakistani team, claimed to have knowledge of the 2010 spot-fixing beforehand and also picked a fight with former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir, calling him a negative person.

Now, however, another statement from the book released on April 30, 2019, has left people questioning his mentality.

In a part of the book, Afridi wrote that he won’t allow any of his four daughters to play any outdoor sport. However, the four kids who love to dress up and are brilliant at academics, have been given the liberty to play indoor sports.

The statement read, “Aqsa is in the 10th grade, Ansha is in the ninth. They’re both great at sports and even better in academics. Ajwa and Asmara are the youngest and love to play dress-up. They have my permission to play any sport, as long as they’re indoors. Cricket? No, not for my girls. They have permission to play all the indoor games they want, but my daughters are not going to be competing in public sporting activities”.

Afridi went on to clarify that he took this decision keeping social and religious factors in mind. He wrote, “It’s for social and religious reasons that I’ve made this decision and their mother agrees with me. The feminists can say what they want; as a conservative Pakistani father, I’ve made my decision.”

Shahid Afridi "It's for social and religious reasons that I've made this decision regarding my daughters not competing in public sporting activities and their mother agrees with me. The feminists can say what they want; as a conservative Pakistani father, I've made my decision"

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) May 7, 2019

Though the cricketer's wife also agreed with his decision, Netizens begged to differ:

"Wow dad when I grow up I wanna be just like you"

"Lol nah"

That sucks pic.twitter.com/wp9vHYU8NC

— Abhi (@holabolabolbol) May 5, 2019

Don’t be a Shahid Afridi to your daughter, sister, or wife. Let your women be. Also, it’s alright to have housemaking as a purpose, so if she’s happy doing so, there’s no harm. But as you know, gender roles are transforming rapidly, for good. So don’t get nervous, & be a partner.

—  (@TheSortedChaos) May 8, 2019

#ShahidAfridi is no better than a typical middle-aged average Pakistani guy, who wouldn’t mind hanging out with someone else’s daughters but would balk if his own did the same(See pic below) Unfortunate statement given Pakistan is a country with its own women’s cricket team. https://t.co/gd8oUTeGbX

— Salman Siddiqui (@salmansid) May 9, 2019

Shahid Afridi himself is a oppressor, does not allow for own daughter to play outdoor.

— Kumar Laungani (@LaunganiKumar) May 8, 2019

Not to forget you're a tyrant and an idiot. Why is it even up for debate? You went to meet a fan girl you used to talk on phone (although he was a boy, serves you right). But your daughters can't participate in Sports.

— Muhammad Zulfiqar (@Fire___Dragon) May 8, 2019