Oops! When Shahid Afridi Didn’t Have Money to Foot His Food Bill

Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi did not really expect this.

Pakistan Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi. (Photo: AP)

Pakistan Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi was saved some embarrassment when a fan stepped in to pay for his meal at a fast food joint in Auckland after the flamboyant cricketer realised that he was not carrying local currency.

Afridi and teammate Ahmed Shehzad had gone to buy meals at a McDonald’s restaurant inside the Auckland airport on Monday. The players, however, were carrying US dollars instead of the local currency.

After the restaurant refused to accept the money offered by them, a fan – Waqas Naveed – paid Afridi’s bill.

Waqas Naveed, the fan who paid for Afridi and Ahmed Shahzad. (Photo: Twitter)

Afridi told the Pakistani media that he and Shehzad had forgotten to change their US dollars into New Zealand currency before going to the restaurant.

<p>There was this young man behind us in the line and he offered to pay for us insisting it was his way of welcoming us to New Zealand.</p>

Shahid Afridi, Pakistan T-20 skipper

But the all-rounder said he was disappointed that the entire episode was recorded by someone in the restaurant and the media had been playing it.

The fan, Waqas, said he paid the bill to welcome the players as he was a big fan of the Pakistan team, which is in New Zealand for a limited-overs series starting January 15.

(With PTI inputs)