'Nowadays one has to create controversies to sell biographies & autobiographies,' says Pak cricketer Javed Miandad over Shahid Afridi's 'Game Changer'

Former Pakistan batting great Javed Miandad laughed off some of the allegations that the flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi has levelled against him, in his book 'Game Changer'. 

In the book, which is officially launched in Pakistan on Saturday, Afridi described the former captain Miandad as a small human being.

Claiming that Miandad didn't like him and his batting style, Afridi said one day before the first Test against India at Chennai in 1999, the 61-year-old didn't even give him time in the nets to practice.

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Miandad laughed off the allegations.

"I leave everything to Allah but how is it possible that a player is not given net practice a day before a Test match he is supposed to play," Miandad laughed as he told PTI.

Miandad said it is true that he had his issues with Afridi but they were purely professional.

"I always told him the potential he had he could have been a much better player for Pakistan. There were times I spent hours with him in the nets trying to improve his temperament and batting techniques," claimed Miandad.

The former batsman added that he is not surprised by the content of Afridi's book as nowadays one has to create controversies to sell biographies and autobiographies.

Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi's autobiography titled 'Game Changer' was released on Friday, and in it, he has lashed out explosively at India's former southpaw and winner of two World titles Gautam Gambhir, taking their decade-old on-and-off-field spat to another level. However, while that matter continues to pique Cricket fans' interests, an aspect from the book that has left them perplexed is Afridi's own estimate of his age and the calculations involved.

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Shahid Afridi who is fondly addressed as 'Lala' has confessed that he was born in 1975 and not 1980 as stated in official records. Nonetheless, Afridi has not yet mentioned his date of birth. According to what he writes in his autobiography, the former all-rounder was 19 and not 16 when he had made his debut against Kenya back in 1996. He went on to add that the authorities had stated his age incorrectly. As of now, Afridi also holds the record of being the youngest player to score an ODI century at the age of 16 years and 217 days.

Therefore, after revealing his exact age, it means that he was at least 20 when he had made a then record-breaking 37-ball century against Sri Lanka in 1996 instead of 16 as stated in the official records. 

(With PTI inputs)