http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 wants World Cup Glory in 2011
Shahid Afridi is in the headlines once again. In a recent statement, the recently retired captain claimed that he wants to lead his country to the 2011 World Cup glory. Afridi retired from Test cricket after their disappointing 150-run loss against 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,” Afridi said.
The responsibility of leading the team against Australia and then against England in the Test series now rests with Salman Butt. Pakistan takes on Australia at Headingley in the second test match of the MCC Spirit of Cricket series followed by the 4 test match series against England. However, Afridi will return to lead his side for the Twenty20 and One Day International matches against England after the Tests. Afridi claimed that the T20 and one-day internationals would be good practice for the World Cup in the sub-continent next year.
Afridi, who was always not comfortable with Test cricket, made a comeback to the longer version of cricket after a gap of four years. Despite training hard with the team for the tiring traditional format, Afridi failed to impress. His poor performance convinced the selectors and himself that Test cricket was not made for him.
“I took a decision which I felt was right and now all my concentration is on the limited-overs series against England, which will be our first step towards winning next year's World Cup. England has been doing very well in both ODIs and T20s, so if we could beat them it would be good for the progress of the team,” Afridi told reporters.
Afridi might consider rejoining Hampshire, provided they qualify for the quarterfinals of the Friends Provident T20 tournament in England. “I had to abandon the contract with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hampshire-c789 because I was here for the Test series, but now they want me to play the last three matches of the Twenty20, provided they qualify”.
Afridi was named as the captain of the Pakistan team at a difficult juncture when the Pakistan Cricket Board had handed down bans and fines to some of the senior players after Pakistan’s fruitless tour of Australia, where they couldn’t win a single match. Senior players like Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik were banned, even though they overturned the board’s decision later. Nevertheless, they were missing for a large part of the important games where Afridi led the young team to impressive victories.
There was unrest in the Pakistan camp, between the officials, players and selectors before Afridi’s appointment and it has been suggested that this was the reason for Afridi’s early retirement. However, Afridi said, “This team was unified and there were no problems, nothing. I took the decision in the best interest of the team and hope a youngster with a Test temperament takes my position. I also feel that there are other players who are not fit for the longer version of the game and my advice to them is to concentrate on the shorter forms.”
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