KARACHI: Flamboyant allrounder Shahid Afridi is all set to take over as Pakistan’s captain for the ICC World Twenty20 championship on Tuesday (today) following a one-to-one meeting with PCB chairman Ijaz Butt in Lahore.
Afridi was on Monday informed by a senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official that Butt would meet him just about an hour before a Twenty20 match to be staged by the Board at the Gaddafi Stadium to mark Pakistan Day.
Pakistan had announced their 15-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 earlier this month but delayed picking a captain to lead the country’s title defence in the tournament which begins in the West Indies from April 30.
Butt had opted to take his time before naming a captain, fuelling speculations with some reports suggesting that apart from Afridi the PCB chairman is also mulling over other options like senior allrounder Abdul Razzaq, Misbah-ul-Haq and Salman Butt.
However, by summoning Afridi for a meeting at the PCB headquarters just before the Twenty20 game it seems clear that Butt has finally made up his mind. He had to name a captain for the Pakistan team that would be taking on the winner of Pakistan ‘A’ and Pakistan Under-19s, who will be battling against each other earlier today.
During the meeting, Afridi would also submit his appeal against a Rs3 million fine imposed by the PCB for ball-tampering. Afridi’s contention is that he has already been punished for the offence.
Afridi, 30, was named as Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain soon after the Greenshirts clinched the World T20 crown in England last summer under the captaincy of Younis Khan. However, Younis retired from Twenty20 cricket the day his team achieved the memorable triumph and later the PCB picked Afridi to succeed him as skipper.
Afridi was the obvious choice as he is regarded by experts as an aggressive captain and the fact that he is counted among the most destructive allrounders in the shortest version of the game also helped his cause.
But Afridi’s captaincy came under a cloud when he was caught biting the ball in Pakistan’s fifth and final One-day International against Australia in Perth and was subsequently banned for two Twenty20 Internationals. In his absence, Shoaib Malik led Pakistan in the one-off T20 game against Australia at the MCG and later in a two-math series against England in Dubai.
Malik was in contention for World Twenty20 captaincy but the allrounder was banned for one year over indiscipline by the PCB earlier this month and was thus ruled out of the event. Afridi is one of the most successful allrounders in Twenty20 cricket with 457 runs from 27 matches at an average of 20.67 and a stunning strike-rate of 145.25. More importantly, he has picked up 37 wickets at 16.32.
When contacted on Monday, Afridi told ‘The News’ that he would be honoured to lead Pakistan in the World Twenty20. “I don’t know whether they would choose me as captain but if they do I will give my best to lead my team to another title,” he said.
“We have a very good team and I’m sure that the boys will give their best in the West Indies,” he added. Interestingly, while Afridi remained as the favourite for captaincy in spite of his bizarre ball-biting incident, Razzaq and Misbah have also been voicing their desire for the assignment.
“If I am asked to lead our team, it will be a big honour for me and also one of the biggest challenges of my career,” Razzaq said in an interview. Misbah, who till a few months back was discarded by national selectors as spent force, said he would welcome such an opportunity.
“I am not thinking about it at this time but if I am made captain then I have a clear mind on what I want to do and how I can successfully manage the team,” Misbah said in an interview. “I have a clear plan in mind and I know we can do well if we support each other in these testing times for Pakistan cricket,” he said.
caption
Shahid Afridi... is counted among the most destructive allrounders in Twenty20 cricket
Source
Afridi was on Monday informed by a senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official that Butt would meet him just about an hour before a Twenty20 match to be staged by the Board at the Gaddafi Stadium to mark Pakistan Day.
Pakistan had announced their 15-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 earlier this month but delayed picking a captain to lead the country’s title defence in the tournament which begins in the West Indies from April 30.
Butt had opted to take his time before naming a captain, fuelling speculations with some reports suggesting that apart from Afridi the PCB chairman is also mulling over other options like senior allrounder Abdul Razzaq, Misbah-ul-Haq and Salman Butt.
However, by summoning Afridi for a meeting at the PCB headquarters just before the Twenty20 game it seems clear that Butt has finally made up his mind. He had to name a captain for the Pakistan team that would be taking on the winner of Pakistan ‘A’ and Pakistan Under-19s, who will be battling against each other earlier today.
During the meeting, Afridi would also submit his appeal against a Rs3 million fine imposed by the PCB for ball-tampering. Afridi’s contention is that he has already been punished for the offence.
Afridi, 30, was named as Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain soon after the Greenshirts clinched the World T20 crown in England last summer under the captaincy of Younis Khan. However, Younis retired from Twenty20 cricket the day his team achieved the memorable triumph and later the PCB picked Afridi to succeed him as skipper.
Afridi was the obvious choice as he is regarded by experts as an aggressive captain and the fact that he is counted among the most destructive allrounders in the shortest version of the game also helped his cause.
But Afridi’s captaincy came under a cloud when he was caught biting the ball in Pakistan’s fifth and final One-day International against Australia in Perth and was subsequently banned for two Twenty20 Internationals. In his absence, Shoaib Malik led Pakistan in the one-off T20 game against Australia at the MCG and later in a two-math series against England in Dubai.
Malik was in contention for World Twenty20 captaincy but the allrounder was banned for one year over indiscipline by the PCB earlier this month and was thus ruled out of the event. Afridi is one of the most successful allrounders in Twenty20 cricket with 457 runs from 27 matches at an average of 20.67 and a stunning strike-rate of 145.25. More importantly, he has picked up 37 wickets at 16.32.
When contacted on Monday, Afridi told ‘The News’ that he would be honoured to lead Pakistan in the World Twenty20. “I don’t know whether they would choose me as captain but if they do I will give my best to lead my team to another title,” he said.
“We have a very good team and I’m sure that the boys will give their best in the West Indies,” he added. Interestingly, while Afridi remained as the favourite for captaincy in spite of his bizarre ball-biting incident, Razzaq and Misbah have also been voicing their desire for the assignment.
“If I am asked to lead our team, it will be a big honour for me and also one of the biggest challenges of my career,” Razzaq said in an interview. Misbah, who till a few months back was discarded by national selectors as spent force, said he would welcome such an opportunity.
“I am not thinking about it at this time but if I am made captain then I have a clear mind on what I want to do and how I can successfully manage the team,” Misbah said in an interview. “I have a clear plan in mind and I know we can do well if we support each other in these testing times for Pakistan cricket,” he said.
caption
Shahid Afridi... is counted among the most destructive allrounders in Twenty20 cricket
Source
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