Ashfaq Shakir, a legless masterpiece in fielding (Part 1)

Many young people of the beloved homeland, who were crushed in the mill of unfavorable conditions, poverty and worries, went ahead and emerged as a beacon of success in their field. Be a source of encouragement for people like you. There are many examples of this in all walks of life in Pakistan. However, such people are rarely seen in sports. When it comes to Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association, one cannot forget Muhammad Ashfaq Shakir, a resident of a remote village in Kasur Tehsil, Patoki District, Punjab, who, despite his extreme adversity and poverty, not only played disabled cricket for Pakistan and also has the honor of scoring the first century in disabled cricket. Because of his active and intelligent fielding, his teammates used to call him “Jonty Rhodes” and “Imran Nazir”. Interestingly, these two names were given to him by Saleem Karim, the founder of Disabled Cricket, who was fond of his fielding. It is a fact that Ashfaq Shakir is an excellent fielder who has definitely same 15 to 25 runs in every match but their run outs sometimes turn the tide of the match.

There is a striking resemblance between Ashfaq Shakir and former Pakistan cricket captain Waqar Younis. His right foot was cut in half at the age of four in a fodder cutting machine. That’s why his leg was short. He saw the 1992 World Cup victory in his youth and that is probably why his cricketing obsession started at the age of six and continues to this day. Ashfaq Shakir had seen poverty and deprivation in and around his home since childhood, so he not only had a passion for satisfying his cricketing passion but also a job to support his family. His father was strongly opposed to him playing cricket, yet he played tape tennis cricket in secret. Once in a match against the Chaudhrys, Ahmed Shakir was not going to bat because his father was sitting in front, so his captain went to Ashfaq Shakir’s father to let his son go for batting, otherwise we would loose the match. Will lose His father gave permission. Ashfaq Shakir hit 11 sixes to lead his “poor” team to victory against the “Chaudhrys”. It should be noted that this match was held only once a year. Since then, his father has never stopped him from playing.

Ashfaq Shakir wanted to play cricket with hardball, but employment problems prevented him. During this time, he worked in many factories and continued his hobby by playing in the teams of these factories. He did not play hardball cricket until he was 20 years old. When he had to come to Lahore for employment, one day in his spare time he went to a net and picked up his hair. It was the net of a well-known rural team in Lahore. Seeing his passion and determination, Only a few weeks later, the current captain Babar Azam, who was a teenager at the time, started coming to the same net with his father. The captain of the club handed over Babar Azam to him. You get him to net, so he also has a hand in Babar Azam’s early cricket, Ashfaq Shakir started playing hard ball well and on the same net he improved his fielding skills to the best of his ability. Throughout the night he would “refug” at a tailor’s shop and during the day he would work on his skills on the cricket net. Ashfaq Shakir was selected in the Lahore disabled team in 2007 when the formation of teams across the country began after the formation of the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association. However, he did not get to play any matches in the first national championship. He returned to Karachi happily as the encouragement he received from Saleem Karim in Karachi and the praise he received for his fielding became a beacon for his future. (to be continued )