On this very day 20 years ago, a 16-year-old with little or no international experience took the field at the Aga Khan Sports Club Ground in Nairobi. He was part of a star-studded Pakistan line-up that included the likes of Waqar Younis, Saleem Malik, Saqlain Mushtaq and Ramiz Raja. There was nothing extra-ordinary about the teenager’s One-day International debut. He bowled well but finished with figures of 0-32 in his ten overs. He didn’t get a chance to bat as Pakistan survived some early hiccups to prevail in the low-scoring game of the KCA Centenary Tournament against hosts Kenya with the help of an unbeaten 50 by Moin Khan.

Any other 16-year-old would have been happy for just being there. Being a part of the Pakistan team should have sufficed.

But this particular youngster was too ambitious to sit back and allow others to hog the limelight. In his very next game two days later at Nairobi Gymkhana, the all-rounder made sure that he won’t go unnoticed as he smashed the fastest century in the history of international cricket. Racing to his 100 in just 37 balls, he clobbered 11 sixes against a Sri Lankan bowling attack that featured world class performers like Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas.

A new star was born. Shahid Afridi went on to become one of the most popular cricketers at the world stage. During the best part of an international career that spans over two decades, Afridi was regarded among the most prolific all-rounders in ODI and later Twenty20 International cricket. He is still counted among the top-ranked all-rounders in the 20-over format.

In ODIs, Afridi amassed 8064 runs and bagged an impressive haul of 395 wickets. In T20 Internationals, he has 1405 runs and 97 wickets. He even has five Test centuries, three of them scored against arch-rivals India.

Today, Afridi and his fans should have been celebrating 20 years of an illustrious career. But instead we are arguing over whether the former captain deserves featuring in a farewell game before retiring from international cricket. There are many who are rooting for Afridi while others want him to bow out without any applause.

While legions of Lala’s fans are urging him to play on, his critics are ridiculing the all-rounder over his attempts to linger on past his shelf-life.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hasn’t helped matters, as usual. Plans were made by chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq to give Afridi one last international appearance (against the West Indies during the recently-concluded T20 International series in the UAE). The Board initially agreed but later a top official, who was apparently unhappy over the fact that he wasn’t consulted, interfered and the idea was given a thumbs down.

As usual, the sensitive issue of a senior player’s retirement was turned into a joke. There has been a lot of talk about this issue with some suggesting that the players should know that they have worn out their welcome and quit at the right time. People coming out with such suggestions aren’t sporting celebrities, are they?

The fact is that retirement terrifies sports stars. And the longer the career, the harder is the decision to call it quits. Sports stars thrive on fame and fortune. Ending a career is like falling off a cliff. Unwilling to give up his career, Evander Holyfield was still seeking a professional fight at the age of 50. Karim Abdul-Jabbar described retirement as his first death. Martina Navratilova once lamented that she felt irrelevant soon after retirement.

Spare a thought for Afridi. He was still a young boy when he became an international star with his record-breaking ton in Nairobi. For 20 years, he has been worshipped by millions of his fans. They still do. He has a big family and even bigger circle of friends. They keep telling him to continue playing. They have faith in him. Lala has faith in himself. He believes he is still good enough. You can argue with that. I did when we last met in a hotel lobby in Chandigarh earlier this year. Pakistan were in the middle of an embarrassing losing spree and Afridi was drawing a lot of criticism as his team faced an early elimination from the ICC World Twenty20 championship in India. I asked him about his retirement plans. Afridi seemed unsure and sought my opinion. I told him that there was little chance that they would retain him in the team once Pakistan return home after a dismal performance in India. "But everybody is ringing me up and telling me not to retire," he told me. "Many of them are my elders and I have always listened to them."

I told him to decide for himself. "A player knows when its time," was my piece of advice.

Afridi said he would take a final decision after returning home. "Of all the places in the world, India would be the last place where I would decide to retire," he said.

After returning home, Afridi resigned as captain but made himself available for national duty. They didn’t select him, sending Afridi a clear message that Pakistan were thinking beyond him.

In an ideal world, Afridi should have gotten the message. In an ideal world Afridi should have known that it was time.

But we don’t live in an ideal world. We all have our weaknesses. That’s what makes us human. Afridi might be a superstar but he is a mere mortal, who continues to yearn for limelight. Hence his keenness to play one final game and get one final opportunity to wave his bat in front of his adoring fans.

So does he deserve a swansong?

Sachin Tendulkar got a fairytale sendoff. So why not Afridi?

After all, Afridi has given Pakistan cricket much more than the PCB chiefs who get to decide whether a player deserves a farewell game or not. Despite its fair share of lows, Afridi’s glittering career had many highs as he emerged as one of the world’s most successful all-rounders and in the process helped Pakistan win many a match. How many of the top PCB officials can claim to have even a fraction of such contribution towards Pakistan cricket?