Shahid Afridi laments Aussie loss
Captain of Pakistan’s T-20 team all-rounder Shahid Afridi has declared that the loss to the Australians in the semi-final of T-20 World Championship from a seemingly impregnable position still hurts him, and he would have gladly accepted a win against the Aussies, in return for a defeat in the final at the hands of England. Afridi spoke to the media at the Karachi airport, upon the team’s return from the World Championship held in West Indies.
The men in green, who were the defending Champions in the tournament, were sent packing in the semi-final despite posting a huge total of 191 runs in the allotted 20 overs.
The Australians needed 18 runs off the final over bowled by spinner Saeed Ajmal, and in an astonishing display of batting, middle order batsman Mike Hussey slammed three sixes and one four to propel his team to one of the most memorable wins in the shortest format of the game. When asked about Hussey’s incredible knock, Afridi simply replied “Great innings”, adding that the loss still haunts him as he and his unit were desperately determined to win against the kangaroos, especially in the wake of the mauling the Pakistan team received down under, earlier this year.
Pakistan lost all nine international matches on the tour, which is unprecedented in their rich cricketing history. When asked about his decision of choosing Saeed Ajmal to bowl the final over, Afridi jumped to the defence of his ace bowler claiming that Ajmal was the one responsible for the win against the South Africans in the super eights stage, when he bowled under intense pressure and choked the Proteas for runs in similar circumstances. The all-rounder also stated that the team management struggled to make a solid combination at the start of the Championship, since they had to utilise the players that were selected by the selection committee.
He however defended the selectors saying that they had picked the best possible squad under the circumstances. It is pertinent to add here that the squad selected for the championship did not have Afridi’s input as he was announced captain a few days after the 15 member team was chosen by the selection committee headed by former test opener Moshin Khan. Afridi has already been taken to task for his comments on the selection of the squad, and understandably he minced words when tackling the sensitive issue at the airport.
The all-rounder nicknamed BOOM BOOM for his aggressive approach towards batting reiterated that he was not concerned if captaincy was taken away from him before the Asia cup tournament that is set to start on the 15th of June in Sri Lanka. Meanwhile the manager of the team Yawar Saeed said that he was happy with the performance of the team in the West Indies, adding that in his opinion Afridi was a good captain and the right choice to lead Pakistan. The Pakistan squad is expected to rest for a few days, before retuning to action for the Asia Cup one-day tournament, which they have won only once.
The tournament was last held in Karachi in 2008, when the Sri Lankans emerged victorious.
The national selection committee is expected to announce the probables for the event this week, which will follow a short conditioning camp possibly in Karachi. Before the announcement of the squad the cricket board has to appoint a captain, since Mohammad Yousuf who led the team in Australia retired from International cricket last month. Many people believe that Afridi is the right choice for captaincy in the ODI format, yet whether Pakistan Cricket Board thinks the same is a different matter altogether.
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