Shahid Afridi once again ambivalent about his future in Test Cricket
Pakistan’s Captain Shahid Afridi is still ambivalent about the future of his test career. He said that he would make a final decision regarding his Test future after the three-month exhaustive tour of England.
Boom Boom Afridi has his sights on the 2011 World Cup. He said that he will assess his Test calibre during the England tour, where the Green Shirts will play six Tests against the mighty Aussies and the English hosts. He said that the next test series would help him better analyze his performance in test cricket, and after that he can decide better whether he should continue the five day game or concentrate on his limited over game which suits his aggressive, Boom Boom style more.
“I will take a decision (on my Test future) at the end of the England tour,” said Afridi.
The flamboyant all-rounder donned whites some four years back at Manchester and had announced not to play five day cricket saying that he wants to focus more on his ODI and Twenty20 career.
“I’ll see whether my body will allow me to continue playing in all three formats after the tour of England. It’s a long tour and will be followed by a lot of more Tests and one-dayers before the World Cup,” said the Pakistani captain.
Last month, Afridi announced his self-imposed exile from the test cricket. However, later on the selectors, before handing him the captaincy for the Asia Cup as well as the Tour of England, convinced him to take back his decision of Test retirement.
However, once again it seems that Afridi is not at all happy with the five day format of cricket. While talking to the media reporters, he said that he wants himself to be completely fit for the 2011 World Cup, as winning the World Cup is his dream.
Critics have already shown their concerns over Afridi’s Test ability. They are explicitly saying that the all-rounder would fail to impress in the forthcoming series in England.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting said that Afridi can be the leader of Pakistan side, but is not the best Test player. Handing him over the captaincy was the need of the hour and was not based on his performance.
“If you read between the lines he’s almost in there as [the team’s] leader and captain, not necessarily one of their best Test players,” said Ponting.
He further added that the all rounder, in either way, can never be a threat for Australia. He said the Kangaroos will test him out. Ponting was confident that his bowlers, with their quick deliveries, would sort him out quite easily.
Afridi, on the other hand, is positive about his performance against both England and Australia.
“He (Ponting) may think whatever he likes but I’m confident about my batting and am looking forward to playing Test cricket again,” said Afridi.
At the same time, thirty year old Shahid Afridi is well aware of the tough time that his squad would have, as the Green Shirts will face the red ball after playing a lot with the white in the recent past. Afridi recognized that the series against Ponting’s side would be a hard one, especially after Pakistan's devastating tour of Australia earlier this year.
Afridi articulated his hopes that the Pakistan team would bounce back in the Test series in England.
"It will certainly be difficult to switch to Test cricket after playing so many Twenty20 and One-Day Internationals in the last few months," said the aggressive Afridi.
The Pakistan team will leave for England by the end of this month, where they will test their skills in all three formats of cricket. Looking at the record-making win of Green Shirts against the Bengali Tigers in their last game of the Asia Cup, one can expect some good performances from them.
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