Pakistan World Cup captain riddle solved- Afridi retained as skipper
Just hours after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 as the captain of the national team for the 2011 World Cup in a press conference.
With this announcement the uncertainty surrounding Pakistan cricket has come to an end. Afridi is already the ODI skipper of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 but he was not named as the captain in the 15-member World Cup squad, which was announced last month by the PCB.
According to reports, PCB was not happy with the performance of the hard hitting all-rounder and there was a certain group of people within the Board including the chairman, who wanted Afridi sacked.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292 and Moin Khan advised the Board not to gamble with a new captain.
According to the legendary Wasim Akram, it would have been extremely difficult for a new captain to fill in the shoes of Afridi right before the World Cup.
Pakistan’s greatest captain Imran http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Khan-c71319, who led the country to its only World Cup triumph, also opposed the idea of replacing Afridi and appointing a new captain before the World Cup. “You can't have just three weeks before the World Cup and the captain
has not been announced. It takes time to know your team...its strengths... its weaknesses...to develop your strategy”.
After Pakistan’s loss in the T20 and ODI series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zaheer-Abbas-c98435. The veterans questioned his place in the team as skipper. The lack of support
from Chairman PCB added more pressure on Afridi.
The New Zealand tour was crucial for Afridi to perform well and silence his critics. After losing the first ODI at http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wellington-c864, things didn’t look good for the struggling all-rounder.
However, he led the team in an astounding manner in the third ODI at Christchurch by playing a blazing innings of 65 runs off just 25 balls, making him the fastest 50 scorer in New Zealand.
He then led his team to another victory in Napier and then in Hamilton, which ultimately resulted in a series victory by 3-1. The last match of the series will be played on Saturday at Eden Park, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Auckland-c766.
This series victory perhaps convinced the selectors and Ijaz Butt to retain Afridi as the skipper for the World Cup, which is set to begin from the 19th of this month, jointly hosted by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758.
Pakistan play their first match on the 23rd of February against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752 at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota, Sri Lanka.
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