In his most candid interview since the World Cup, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi quashed rumours about his possible return to test match cricket, reiterating that he lacked the temperament for the five-day game.
Speaking to a private TV channel, Afridi discussed everything from retirement to political figures, even Aleem Dar’s golden run and handled himself quite diplomatically at times.
Test return: There are quite a few youngsters on the domestic circuit with better technique and temperament. They can do justice to the slot and it will be beneficial for the future. The team is performing really well right now…each and every individual looks hungry for success and so keeping that in my mind also I would not like to unsettle the camp by this talk of returning to test cricket,” he added.
Fan support: We’ve been overwhelmed by the support we have received since coming back from the World Cup. There are a large number of people standing outside my house everyday for autographs, it’s like we’ve won the Cup. But I’ve been making an extra effort to meet everyone, welcome fans to my house and also meeting the press because the support means a lot to us.
Kamran Akmal: He is obviously having a disastrous run at the moment but let me tell you he is one of the most talented cricketers I’ve ever seen. I particularly enjoy his batting and as far keeping is concerned, he is one of the hardest working players in the team. Hopefully, it will pay off soon.
Dropping Sachin Tendulkar: The words that came to my mind cannot be repeated on air (laughs). But it’s quite obvious when you drop a batsman let alone the Indian master, he will make you pay.
Batting form: I have to improve my batting because it has been pretty bad for quite some time. Even my daughter has started calling me ‘Baba Boom Boom out’ because of my poor batting performance.
Umpire Decision Review System: I’ve always backed the system. It’s good for the game. Even during ‘that’ series in England we could’ve won had it not been for some of the decisions going against us. I think it’s great the ICC is bringing this into the game because one poor decision changes everything. Saeed Ajmal was pretty confident about his shout against Tendulkar during the World Cup semi-final and kept discussing it even at the airport. But in the end the replays showed a lot of deviation.
Rehman Malik: He said things in his own way but I’m sure he meant no harm. He called me a few times to apologise and I think that was really good of him. I think the timing of what he said was just not right.
Cricket diplomacy: Prime Minister Gilani called me and asked me what the preparation for the match was like. He told me that he would be coming to see the match along with a group of other people from Pakistan. For us, it actually helped with the confidence that they were coming. Every match has its pressure, playing against India after so long, so there were a lot of expectations. But it’s good that the two countries are meeting at the highest level again.
Aleem Dar: Wow! What a talent! He was amazing during the World Cup and has done Pakistan proud.
Junaid Khan: He performed really well against England in the warm-up match and he definitely has a bright future. It was a big game for someone like him and he has shown that he is quite capable.
Young stars: I think Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq and Wahab Riaz are definitely the ones to look out for. I love the way Umar takes on a pressure situation and Asad is the solid batsman we always been looking for.
Fielding: A lot of former cricketers criticise us but the fact is that we been pretty average for the past 60 years. It’s pretty simple; if you don’t enjoy fielding you won’t be good at it. We’ve worked really hard on our fielding in the past few months and surely it will show soon.
Wicket-keeper Mohammad Salman: Right now it is a tussle between Mohammad Salman and Sarfaraz Ahmed for the keeping spot just like in the past when Rashid Latif and Moin Khan used to fight it out. Salman has been picked on the back of his domestic performance. He has been preferred because he’s been good with the bat as well. But Sarfaraz is highly talented and will surely come through. A lot of youngsters have been earmarked for the West Indies and Zimbabwe tour and the selectors will be giving them a good run.
Opening: I think right now we have quite a few talented openers in the ranks so there is no need for me to go up the order.
Mohammad Hafeez: He always has something to say…has a lot of free advice to offer and is very knowledgeable, hence his nickname ‘professor’. In fact sometimes there is so much advice that I forget what I had plan during a game. But jokes apart, he is a big help on the field.
Tour of the West Indies: I think right now we have a pretty balanced test side so we can probably achieve what we haven’t in the past. The conditions are pretty similar to the subcontinent unlike the past. I really enjoy playing over there because after a hard day’s game you can unwind on the beach. If we play to our potential, the results will surely be good.
Umar Gul: Gul was brilliant throughout the World Cup…he just had an off day against India. Waqar Younis worked really hard with him and he showed everyone that he is as good with the new ball as he is with the old one. He’ll surely be back in rhythm.
Retirement: When we lost the semi-final World Cup my dad called me right away. He made sure I wasn’t going to make any emotional decisions. I have no plans of retirement at the moment and I will play on for as long as people can bear with me. The 2015 World Cup is a long way away but the 2012 World Twenty20 is definitely something that I’m thinking about.
Future captains: I think that for the PCB and the selectors to decide…I can’t say much on it. At the moment there is no I can earmark particularly but there are quite a few young players who can lead the team. When Imran Khan left everyone was wondering where the next leader would come from but as we all know there were quite a few capable people who followe
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Help from the outside: I would particularly like to thank Imran Khan for his support. Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja, Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan and Rashid Latif were all a big help. In this country when you are down, people try to bury you even further and you have to lift yourself up. But without the help of these guys it would have been impossible.
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