I respect and regard everyone who is representing Pakistan in any form of sports including Cricket. But someone who was in his 5th grade when Pakistan won the world cup, following Cricket meant following people like Imran Khan, Miandad, Double W's, Saeed Anwar, Inzi etc etc. So, not sure if I would agree with Shoaib's being a hero as far as I am concerned.
In the last 15 years or so, we have become more materialistic society as a whole. In my personal opinion, most of the present players don t have the potential to handle the money and fame that comes their way with this sports. Therefore, we have all sorts of problems.
Our Media though very proud of itself, has a long way to go forward. I hope they learn from these experiences. We as a Nation unlike US or West, are not capable of focusing our attention about what our celebrities or players are wearing, where they are going to go for summer, having a kid or not, etc etc. as we have so many important issues to cater for, the issues that are a potential threat to our existence.