Karachi, Feb. 1: A repentant Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi tendered an unconditional apology to the country and the cricket world after being penalised by the ICC for ball tampering, saying he would not repeat the "mad thing" again in future.
Afridi, who was caught on television biting into the ball during the final overs of the Australian innings in the fifth ODI in Perth and was banned for two Twenty20 matches, said he was sorry for having caused embarrassment to his countrymen and fans. "I really don’t know what happened to me that made me do such a mad thing. It was not right and I apologise for my actions to everyone," he said.
He, however, said that every team indulged in ball-tampering, and it was nothing new. "There is no team in the world that doesn’t tamper with the ball," said Afridi in his defence.
"What happened was very unfortunate and should not have happened. I have learnt from my mistake and will not repeat it again," he said. — PTI