Afridi does it with grace under pressure
Pakistan's captain Shahid Afridi, left, speaks to Shoaib Akhtar during the first Twenty20 international cricket match against England at the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, onSunday. (Reuters)
Published: Sep 6, 2010 23:20 Updated: Sep 6, 2010 23:23
CARDIFF: Pakistan cricket is going through its toughest phase following a betting scandal involving three of the country’s leading players and will need enormous efforts to put it back on track.
Many believe one man, who can help Pakistan overcome the current crisis, is their one-day captain Shahid Afridi.
Maybe he can.
The way the flamboyant all-rounder handled the British media here on Monday at the Swalec Stadium, did give one plenty of hope that Afridi – with all his confidence and motivation – can inspire his players to put aside the heaviness surrounding them and give their best on the field.
He smiled and laughed and tried to answer almost all the questions that were fired at him. He was witty at times and for a change gave himself some time before answering the difficult ones. He was trying to make things get back to normal.
When Afridi was asked this particular question as to whether he can be the man who can pull Pakistan out of all this doom and gloom, he said: “Definitely, I would love to do that. In fact already I am trying to do that. I’m motivating the boys and they are responding. They played well yesterday and I’m sure that they will do even better tomorrow and level this series,” stressed Afridi referring to Pakistan’s second Twenty20 International to be played here on Tuesday. Pakistan lost the opening game on Sunday against the hosts by five wickets.
Pakistan dropped a couple of crucial catches which proved costly especially the one which Shoaib Akhtar floored to allow Eoin Morgan to play a match-winning knock in the low-scoring encounter.
“It wasn’t just about the dropped catches,” said Afridi. “There were a few more factors like we didn’t capitalize on a good start. We scored too slowly in the middle overs because somehow the batsmen failed to do well. Then I think we also should have bowled better especially myself and Saeed Ajmal.” But Afridi was quick to back his boys, saying that in the “current circumstances” they did a pretty good job.
“In the current circumstances, we gave our best. It wasn’t easy for us to go out there under so much pressure,” he said referring to the repercussions of a spot-fixing controversy involving three of his teammates Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
“Local people weren’t expecting Pakistan to play so well under so much pressure. It felt great that we are playing cricket again after going through such a tough time.”

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