Shahid Afridi’s angle on the change in Pakistan’s One Day International captaincy
In a move that turned more than just a few heads, the Pakistan Cricket Board appointed Misbah-ul-Haq as the nation’s new One Day International captain over its current skipper, Shahid Afridi. The circumstances under which the decision was taken had its fair
share of controversy with a specific reason for the change in leadership yet to be announced.
One can only speculate as to the exact reasons but it does present the cricketing public a chance to analyse each player and the PCB as to what might have prompted them into making the decision.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482’s Angle
Shahid Afridi had a fairly successful run as the ODI captain leading Pakistan to two series victories over rival nations, including the 3-2 ODI series win over the West Indies a couple of weeks ago. Add in the fact that Afridi led a Pakistan team, which
few rated, to the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time since 1999 and the decision becomes even odder.
The run in the World Cup was inspirational to say the least as Afridi led from the front and ended the tournament as its joint top wicket-taker with an astonishing 21 wickets. Afridi was also the man responsible for ending Australia’s 13-year unbeaten run
in the World Cup, before which he famously went on record saying he had a game plan to beat the Aussies.
Under Afridi’s leadership, Pakistan raced to a 3-0 series win in the five match ODI series against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760, before events back stage involving coach Waqar Younis seemed to change things as Pakistan lost the remaining two matches.
Apparently, Afridi was unhappy with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Waqar-Younis-Maitla-c96193 interfering in matters of squad selection and the frustration seemed to get the better of him as it seemed Afridi was only on the field in the final two ODIs for the sake of the team. Afridi seemed uncharacteristically
uninterested and uninspiring in the matches almost as if he knew what was to come.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128, the PCB chairman, asked Afridi to report back to their headquarters in Lahore where the pair supposedly talked about the incident. It seems that the talks did not benefit Afridi much. All the controversy and behind the scenes happenings had plenty
speculating whether or not Afridi would retain the ODI captaincy, with some going as far as to question whether or not he would be selected in the first XI as well.
When the PCB eventually decided to remove http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ireland-c751, it came as an expected surprise. Everyone knew it was going to happen, but no one actually believed it would.
It seems a harsh decision as Afridi really seemed to have built a team during his time at the helm, something which past captains did not.
The Pakistan side that did so well in the World Cup and in the first three ODIs against the West Indies was not a squad of individuals but rather a team, with everyone playing an equal role and putting together a strong united front.
Afridi took on the role of a leader as much as he did as captain and one can do nothing but feel that Afridi was hard done by the decision. After all, when was the last time a http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 captain led a side to two consecutive series wins and the semi-final
of a World Cup.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 and PCB’s Angle to follow in Part 2
Tags: