Shahid Afridi left with no money, fan pays his food bill

Karachi: Pakistan Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi was saved of much 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.

The Pakistan team is in New Zealand for a limited-overs series starting January 15. 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 local currency with them. And after the restaurant did not accept the money offered by the them, a fan — Waqas Naveed — paid Afridi’s bill.

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.

“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,” Afridi said.