Watch: Shahid Afridi woos Lahore crowd at his farewell reception

New Delhi: It's not everyday that Pakistan cricket fans get to see their stars getting felicitated, but on Friday, a packed Gaddafi Stadium crowd in Lahore found themselves applauding their hero Sahid Afridi.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) finally managed to convince the flambouyant all-rounder to attend his farewell reception which also included a lap of honour during the third and final T20I match against the visiting World XI team.

The 37-year-old previously ignored the invitation, even though he was to watch the match. In the eleventh hour, the all-rounder agreed and did a lap of honour even as fans chanted his name.

Here's the video:

Thank you Lala @SAfridiOfficial #CricketKiHalalala#PAKvWXI pic.twitter.com/ZJP90P8WDB

— PCB Official (@TheRealPCB) September 15, 2017

It's worth noting that, early this year, when there was a suggestion from some quarters that Afridi be given a farewell match to end his international career, the PCB officials, including current chairman Najam Sethi, opposed and ridiculed the idea.

In a similar situation, Younis Khan had already denied the invitation, but Misbah-ul-Haq was seen watching the match together with Afridi in Lahore.

In an illustrious carreer, Afridi played 27 Tests, 398 ODIs and 98 T20Is, scoring 1716k, 8064 and 1405 with the help of 11 international hundreds. He is stillr regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen in the history of the game. He onced hold the record for the fastest ODI hundred.

Afridi is also known as one astute spinner. His legbreak googly deliveries once troubled best of the best in the business. He has 48, 395 and 97 wickets in that order.