'I have now been blessed with a 5th' - Shahid Afridi welcomes his new-born daughter

Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi, on Friday, became a father for the fifth time. The legendary cricketer, who is married to his maternal cousin Nadia Afridi, was blessed with a girl for the fifth time. Afridi’s other four daughters are – Aqsa, Ansha, Ajwa and Asmara. The ex-Pakistan international took to Twitter to reveal the good news to his fans and friends.

He posted a picture of the newborn resting in his arms while his other four daughters were posing alongside him too. Afridi thanked the almighty for the precious gift as he expressed his delight over the good news, tweeting:

“The Almighty’s infinite blessings & mercy are upon me…already having been granted 4 wonderful daughters I have now been blessed with a 5th, Alhamdulillah. Sharing this good news with my well-wishers…”

Afridi is one of the modern-day greats for Pakistan cricket. He is arguably the most popular cricketer in the cricket-obsessed nation. The hard-hitting allrounder became a fan favourite with his explosive batting. Later, he led Pakistan in ODIs as well as T20Is.

India-Pakistan series bigger than Ashes

Recently, Shahid Afridi advocated for the resumption of bilateral ties between India and Pakistan. In a conversation with Indian legend Yuvraj Singh, Afridi said that the India-Pakistan rivalry is the biggest in the game.

“I remember playing against Pakistan in 2004, 2006 and 2008 in bilateral series. These days yeah, there has not been enough of that. But these things are not in our hands. We play cricket for the love of the sport. We cannot choose which country to play against ourselves. But what I can say is that the more India v Pakistan cricket there is, the better it is for the sport,” Yuvraj told Sports360.

“I think, if India and Pakistan were to have a series, it will be something bigger than the Ashes. However, we don’t seem to get it. We are letting politics get in the way of people’s love for this sport and their wish to come together,” said Afridi before adding: “I think we need to put a few things behind us as well and so does India. We need to sit down together at a table and talk things out.”