Afridi Aims For World Cup Glory
48 hours after realizing that the longest format of the game was not meant for him anymore the outgoing test captain of Pakistan http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 vowed to remain in charge of the team in the limited overs formats and give his best in order to ensure that the men in green give their very best at the fifty overs World Cup in the sub-continent next year.
The man renowned for his dashing batting skills that can cause utter devastation on his day has been struggling to invoke his interest in the longest format which is taxing on the body and mind and needs tons of concentration and patience something that Afridi has struggled to achieve consistently at any time during his 14 years of international cricket.
Despite leaving the team without a leader, as the team posed a rudderless ship Afridi remains confident that he can take the fight to the world’s best when he returns to lead the team in the T20 and One-Day International series in England which he thinks would be best and a big challenge for his team, as they bid to consolidate their rankings at these two levels.
The World Cup is less than nine months away, and Pakistan would be a team to be reckoned despite its new outlook and a plethora of youngsters that are yet to cement a spot in the national team.
The real reason for the optimism is that the conditions at the three venues http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 are similar to the conditions in Pakistan and hence Afridi’s team if it remains Afridi’s team by then would have a serious chance of progressing deep into the completion and possibly winning it too.
The last two fifty over World Cups have been dismal for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 in 2007.
This was on the back of a highly successful 90’s decade when the men in green reached the knockout stage of all the three World cups staged in 1992, 1996 and 1999.
They won the tournament in 1992, while lost the final to the Australians at Lords in 1999.
Meanwhile talking to media Afridi declared that the fifty over World Cup was indeed his next target, as he wanted the biggest prize in limited overs cricket against his name besides the other achievements in a roller coaster career that saw some brilliant and some very ordinary days, "I have won the World Twenty20, beaten England and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in Tests at home and have achieved some other milestones as well, but before I leave the game I want to win the World Cup".
However if BOOM BOOM has to realise his dreams he would need to make some concrete plans now including deciding the core of his batting line-up for the tournament, as the men in green possess the weakest batting line-up amongst major international teams presently.
They need to make a clear cut plan and assess the strengths and weaknesses of some of the most formidable teams that they are set to face in the tournament, and after having relieved himself of test duties Afridi has the time to chalk out a plan with the selection committee and earmark the players that are going to feature in the competition that is all about sustaining pressure and tacking the very best in the world.
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