Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi will come out with his autobiography next year, in which he opens up about his “rivalries and alliances”, particularly those with India, as well as his infatuation with the military and his take on politics
Cricketer Shahid Afridi and CEO of Harper Collins India Ananth Padmnabhan
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Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi will come out with his autobiography next year, in which he opens up about his “rivalries and alliances”, particularly those with India, as well as his infatuation with the military and his take on politics. Shahid Afridi: An Autobiography, written with journalist Wajahat S Khan, is an account of one of modern-day cricket’s most controversial and high-achieving performers. HarperCollins India has acquired world rights to the autobiography, which will be released in 2017. The publisher has dubbed the book as “big-hitting and no-holds barred”.
Baring it all
Afridi said, “What you will read in my memoir are the stories and thoughts I’ve never shared openly. I have a lot to say: about my confidence, my fears, my adversaries, my ambitions, my goals and failures. “It was a tall order to get myself ready to do this, but I’m proud to join hands with a fine storyteller and journalist like Wajahat bhai. I’m also thankful to my publishers for giving me the space to be myself.”
“The book is not just about Afridi and Pakistan cricket, but also about the other Afridis we haven’t heard about: the lost kid with the singular focus of pulling his parents out of poverty, the desperate captain trying not to snitch on his corrupt teammates, the gallant Pashtun centurion staring down a hostile Indian crowd,” said Khan.
From the publisher
Publisher and chief editor of HarperCollins India Karthika VK said she is delighted to publish the autobiography. “It will be a great addition to the Harper Sport list and I look forward to working with him and Wajahat to make a memorable book,” she added.
“We acquired it a while ago; we were planning to go ahead with the announcement either way. It’s just another book announcement. We have a few Pakistani writers lined up, including the award-winning Sabyn Jhaveri, who’s written Nobody Killed Her (loosely based on the life of Benazir Bhutto),” said Ananth Padmanabhan, CEO of HarperCollins Publishers, India.
(Inputs by Fiona Fernandez)