Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan has said that Shahid Khan Afridi should be the captain of the national team in all the three formats of the game.
Afridi announced his retirement from Test cricket during the series against Australia in England last year after Pakistan lost the first Test at Lords and he flew back home. However, the Men in Green went on to level the series in the next match under the captaincy of Salman Butt.
Imran wants Afridi to take back his retirement from the longer version of the game and lead his country in limited overs as well as Test cricket.
The legendary cricketer and one of the best all-rounders of the history of the sport feels that there should be one man leading his country in all the three formats and that is the key behind India’s success in the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2011.
He said, “There should be just one captain for all three formats of the game. The main reason for India winning the World Cup is that their captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni leads them in Tests, ODIs and T20 cricket."
It is notable that Pakistan has done well in Test cricket recently without their limited overs captain as they squared the series against top Test teams like Australia and South Africa last year on neutral territory and went on to beat New Zealand by 1-0 on their home soil.
Imran who led his country to the World Cup triumph back in 1992 believes that no captain can excel in cricket without playing all the formats of the game.
"Afridi must also be captain in all three formats of the sport. My belief is that unless you captain in Test cricket you can't really be at the top of your game," Imran added.
Pakistan’s limited overs captain who is known for his flamboyant style of cricket has always been rated as a specialist of the shorter format of the game, although he has played Test cricket off and on. His case for Test cricket is not strong anymore considering the recent success Misbah-ul-Haq has tasted as Pakistan’s captain in the longer version of the game.
