Pakistan ODI/Twenty20 Captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 doesn’t have high hopes for the 2011 World Cup
Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi has played down his team’s prospects in the upcoming Cricket World Cup, starting from 19th February, 2011.
The Pakistani skipper feels that his team is in a poor shape after bearing the agony of the spot-fixing scandal, which has slashed the team’s firepower by half because Pakistan’s top bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif have
both been accused of being involved in the scandal.
Pakistan is suddenly caught in a rebuilding phase, which by no means seems as an appropriate thing to do when the cricket event of the year is just around the corner.
Afridi’s statement comes just a day after the team manager Intikhab Alam told the press that Pakistan has a strong probability of doing well in the World Cup. It seems like the skipper has a different opinion about the preparations
of the team than the manager.
"We've had problems on every tour, and although there aren't high expectations [of winning the World Cup], as captain I'm positive and will keep on motivating the team," Afridi said.
The flamboyant batsman is not ready to let his team down, and still feels anything is possible, but for now, at least on paper, this current Pakistani squad cannot be considered as a team that will run over the opposition.
Afridi was critical over the sidelining of Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal for the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 tour. Afridi feels that in the absence of Amir and Asif, Pakistan dearly needs the services of some senior players and the induction of
Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal can prove vital for Pakistan in the World Cup.
Talking about Malik and Akmal, Afridi said, “You should ask the PCB and selection committee about why Kamran and Malik were not picked. Both are good players and have been doing well in domestic matches."
Earlier this year, Pakistan had a disastrous English tour, where the visitors were marred by spot-fixing allegations in which three main players (Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif) were accused. The International Cricket
Council imposed indefinite suspensions on the trio, barring them from playing any form of cricket. This meant that Pakistan can no longer select them for the national squad until the players manage to get their names cleared.
This has left the Pakistani bowling handicapped and now http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 has been forced to experiment with its bowling attack by introducing uncapped and some out of form players. The bulk of the bowling pressure is on veteran Shoaib
Akhtar and Umar Gul now.
The spot-fixing controversy has harmed Pakistan cricket in more ways than anyone could imagine: because of this scandal, the Pakistan Cricket Board can no longer select players without the approval of the ICC, and there are strong
rumours that the ICC has asked the Pakistan Cricket Board not to select Malik and Akmal, because the cricket’s governing body has some doubts about these players for having links with match-fixing.
Till 19th December, Pakistan has to finalize a 30-man squad for the World Cup, which has to be cut down to 15 by January 19. Time is running out for Pakistan, and unfortunately they don’t have many options to choose
from.
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