Shahid Afridi wants unity against Sri Lanka and Asia Cup
Pakistan’s cricket captain Shahid Afridi, seems to be making all the right noises before embarking upon one of his more important tournaments. Talking to the media before the Pakistan side left for Sri Lanka, to play in the Asia Cup, the Pakistan skipper, has said that he will expect his team to remain united, both, on the field of play and outside the same, despite having some firebrand cricketers.
Asia Cup will see India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh play each other in the round-robin league before the top two sides will contest in the final. All the games will be played at Dambulla. Pakistan will then go on to play England and Australia in Test matches, ODIs and T20Is.
When asked about Pakistan’s history of having disjointed cricket teams, Afridi said that he couldn’t change what had already happened. However, he did add that the side could ensure that the mistakes of the past weren’t repeated again. Afridi said, “We cannot afford to be a bickering lot and the only way we can give our best is by staying united. What I want is that our team should be united on the field and off it.
"I know the importance of having frequent team meetings. It's also important for all the players to dine together as much as possible and discuss issues openly because these are the things that help boost team spirit."
Pakistan will have to be at their best when they take on Sri Lanka in their first game of the tournament, on the 15th of the June.
Pakistan had suffered from an embarrassing loss in every game of their tour to Australia, which was rumoured to be brought about the lack of unity within the side. This also meant that the side struggled to do anything of note in any game, and went down in all the five ODIs, three Test matches and one T20I. This had resulted in an enquiry commission which had banned four of its players for varying lengths, including Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik and Naved al Hasan Rana. Afridi himself had been fined a sum of Rs. 2 million.
Speaking of the Pakistani squad, Afridi was of the opinion that it is one of the more balanced sides that he had played in. the inclusions of Shoaib Malik and Shoaib Akhtar had made things interesting fort he team. He said, "We have a very solid bowling attack and the batting is also looking good. There is a lot of potential. What we need is to translate that potential into positive results and that's only possible if each and every player gives his best for the team.
"We have a long and challenging tour of England coming up but right now we are completely focusing on the Asia Cup, which is also an important assignment. A good showing in the Asia Cup would be a great start to our World Cup plans."
Earlier, Afridi had told the reporters that in the training camp he had had a talk with the likes of Shoaib Akhtar and Shoaib Malik and ensured that they understood the new set of rules within the side. Afrii also added, “The board has also made it clear that the captain and manager have full authority to take action against any player they feel is getting out of line”
Pakistan’s squad for Asia Cup:
Squad: Shahid Afridi (capt), Salman Butt (vice-capt), Imran Farhat, Shahzaib Hasan, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Kamran Akmal (wk), Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Shoaib Akhtar, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman.
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