Shahid Afridi Leaves for Hajj

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Pakistani cricket star Shahid Afridi left for Saudi Arabia this past weekend to perform Hajj. He left for the religious pilgrimage along with former cricketers Inzamamul Haq and Saeed Anwar.

Immediately prior to leaving Pakistan, Afridi captained the Pakistan team in the first Twenty20 fixture between the International World XI and Pakistan All Stars XI. In the match, Pakistan All Stars XI claimed an 84-run win after some stellar bowling from Tabish Khan and half-centuries from Shahzaib Hasan and Umar Akmal.

Shoaib Malik took over the captain’s duties from Afridi. The back-to-back matches marked the historic return of international cricket to Pakistan. Spectators packed the stadium in Karachi to witness the return of international cricket to the country for the first time since 2009, when terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.

Interestingly, as a part of Shahid Afridi’s journey in Saudia Arabia, he bumped into Indian film star Aamir Khan, who was performing Hajj with his mother.

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