He has rejected offers to appear in Bollywood movies and is chasing his Bombay dreams of an England Test comeback.
If he wanted, he could quit cricket tomorrow and settle for a showbiz lifestyle in India, where his girlfriend Amrita Arora is a big screen superstar. But Afzaal is too driven to settle for premieres and fame on an unimaginable scale when he can be playing in front of a handful of trainspotters in the county championship at Derby.
Lights, camera, action? No thanks...just a thermos, anorak and an umbrella will do.
If Amrita is the love of his life - their families have met and they are soon to be engaged - cricket is 27-year-old Afzaal's passion, and he isn't finished yet.
He won three caps during the 2001 Ashes series, and when the Aussies arrive here in five weeks with their film star struts, it will serve as a reminder to Afzaal his England career still lacks a happy ending like a director's cut.
"I met a few big cheeses from the Bollywood industry when England toured India in 2001 and I was even sent a few scripts, but I'm a cricketer, not a movie star," he said.
"Although I could finish with cricket tomorrow, catch the first plane to Mumbai and live in a fantasy world, being waited on hand and foot, I love cricket too much to give it up for celebrity's sake. It has given me everything: my livelihood, my happiness, my well-being.
"Besides, I've spent time on set with Amrita and being a film star is not all glamour."
Born in Rawalpindi, the teeming city which spawned 100mph pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar, Afzaal's family settled in Nottingham when he was a schoolboy and he has since become a standard-bearer for British Asians.
But if the prodigal's return to Pakistan would be nostalgic, his celebrity coalition with Amrita would keep England in the limelight in India, if not improve their middle-order savvy against spin bowling."It's absolute madness," says Afzaal. "Amrita is a huge star in Bollywood, as big as Cameron Diaz is over here. To me, she's not an actress but a normal person with caring qualities. She's not a fake and that's what I admire the most.
"Amu gives me the space to concentrate on my work, but she's also good at kicking my back-side. Thanks to her healthy diet and influence, I've reduced my body fat by four per cent this year."
Amrita who is in England for the opening of a mall will be spending a couple of extra days with her boyfriend. We wish the couple a very happy weekend!
By: Somesh Vasishth with inputs from mirror.co.uk
