Maverick finds his calling at last

There was no elaborate pre-nets routine when Shahid Afridi’s turn to train came at the P Sara Oval on Wednesday. He didn’t go through meticulous inspection of the bat or other cricketing gear like a Sachin Tendulkar or a Rahul Dravid would often do. Only a quick assessment preceded Afridi’s intense net session.

Even while batting at the nets, Afridi didn’t give any instructions to a group of bowlers – a mix of Pakistanis and locals as he went about smashing them around, occasionally mis-hitting a few. It was simply uncomplicated hitting, just downright aggression. In that sense Afridi is an original, an irreplaceable character.  He has his own method to tackle the bowlers, captaincy and media and most of the time it’s as blunt as his bat. During his unique career, Afridi has proved so many of his critics wrong. He has also given his fans some really disappointing moments and he has always been his own man. So the sceptics would not have been entirely wrong to doubt Afridi’s ability to lead Pakistan in the World Cup 2011 in the aftermath of a plethora of controversies that followed Pakistan for most part of the last one year. But Afridi has, this time, proved the doubters wrong, leading Pakistan into the quarterfinals of the quadrennial mega show. There was a dash of maturity in the way he led the former champions. There were some potentially explosive scenarios like the Akmal brothers issue and resting of Shoaib Akhtar, but Afridi has handled them with the slickness of a politician. A younger Afridi could have exploded in anger and frustration but the latest version of him has learned how to control the situation without sacrificing his natural straightforwardness. “The Akmal issue has been discussed enough and my stand is pretty clear. About giving opportunities to Riaz and Asad Shafiq I think, our combination is settled. Riaz is bowling well but Akhtar remains our prime bowler. Shafiq has done well in the chance he has received (against Zimbabwe) but we will take a call according to the demands of a match,” he said. Those are words that will make a seasoned administrator proud. But more importantly, Afridi has reinvented himself as a leg-spinner in this tournament, leading the chart of wicket-takers, picking up his 300th one-day scalp along the way. Afridi’s willingness to experiment has given Pakistan a shot in the arm, also lending a lot of flexibility to their team combination. Afridi is no more a part-time spinner as he had viewed himself in the past. Pakistan were in real danger against Canada, getting bundled out for a sub-200 total and Afridi put his hand up to take his team out of trouble. Shift in tactic Sensing the comfort level of the Canadian batsmen against his leg-spin, Afridi suddenly shifted to seam-up deliveries bowled from the same busy action and the Canadians didn’t expect anything like that, succumbing to deliveries that at times measured up to 130 kmph. It was a special effort from a special performer. “I love and enjoy my bowling these days and hopefully I can take a few more (wickets) that will help the team. Yes, these days I am concentrating a lot on my bowling and it’s good to see my effort is paying off,” Afridi said. At long last, the 31-year old seems to have understood his potential, his role and the ways to contribute to his team’s success consistently. Let’s watch out for more Afridi days then.

Kamran may replace Ahmed as Pak's opening batsman against Australia: Afridi

Pakistan's wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal is likely to replace Ahmed Shehzad as the opening batsman for the World Cup match against Australia in Colombo on March 19, captain Shahid Afridi has said.
Pakistan's strategy for the eagerly awaited game against Australia will be to play attacking cricket, and Afridi believes that he can strengthen his team's batting order by promoting Kamran up the line-up.
Ahmed has flopped in all five of his World Cup outings, and has just scored 44 at an average of less than nine.
"Ahmed is a talented kid but he has not really learnt from his mistakes. We have been showing faith in his abilities but Ahmed has failed to give us a single good start and now we are thinking about going into the match against Australia with a new opening pair," The News quoted Afridi, as saying.
"The best option we have is to promote Kamran as an opener. He has scored a lot of runs playing at that position and has the sort of experience we will need against a top class bowling side like Australia at the start of our innings," he added.
Kamran played four of Pakistan's initial World Cup games at the number three position, but was replaced by Asad Shafiq for that spot in Monday's match against Zimbabwe at Pallekele.
World Cup debutant Asad, who scored an unbeaten 78 to guide Pakistan to a seven-wicket win against Zimbabwe, will retain that position for Pakistan's match against the Aussies, said Afridi.
"Asad made full use of the opportunity that was given to him and that's a sign of a good cricketer," said the skipper. "We needed somebody to do well at the number three spot and are happy that Asad has shown a lot of promise."
Afridi is hoping that the return of Umar Akmal, who missed the game against Zimbabwe because of an injured finger, will bolster Pakistan's batting in their last Pool A game.
"Umar is fully fit and that's good for us because he is one of our key players."

Pakistan has no fear playing in India, says Afridi

 Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi denied on Wednesday that he feared playing a World Cup quarter-final in India, insisting a potential clash between the two neighbours can help ease strained relations.

"I have never said anything along the lines that we don't want to go to India. I never said that," said Afridi, hitting back at media reports that Pakistan wants to avoid playing their last-eight game in India.

"We are here to play the World Cup, so wherever we have to play we will go and we have no fears over going to India," said Afridi of the possibility of a mouth-watering quarter-final against their South Asian rivals at Ahmedabad.

"I think a cricket match has always brought the people of both countries together and has the capacity to improve the relations between the two," said Afridi.

The relationship between the nuclear rivals has been at breaking point since the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in 2008, which New Delhi blamed on extremists based in Pakistan.

Those attacks also forced India to stall bi-lateral cricket series with Pakistan, although both countries played against each other in the Champions Trophy in South Africa in 2009.

Afridi said he and his team-mates have always enjoyed playing cricket in India.

"I have always enjoyed cricket in India, never enjoyed anywhere more than in India, I get maximum enjoyment there," said Afridi, whose first Test century came at Chennai in 1999.

He also hit one-day cricket's fourth fastest century off just 45 balls, against India at Kanpur in 2005.

Pakistan have eight points from their five matches and could top Group A if they beat defending champions Australia in their last match on Saturday.

Afridi says his team fear no opposition.

"The kind of cricket we are playing we fear no venue and no opposition, so India in India, and Australia in the last group match are no problems," said Afridi, who played down threats from extremists groups in India.

"What ever is the response, we will get to know it when we go there because we will be going there after a long time," said Afridi.

"We have played in India in worse situations," added Afridi, referring to Pakistan's tour in 1999 where Hindu militants dug up the pitch in New Delhi.

"For both teams, the pressure is always there and whoever handles the pressure wins the match. But before that we have an important match against Australia and I think we have the capacity to beat them," said Afridi.

'Umar Gul as good as Dale Steyn'

Shahid Afridi may be topping the wickets’ tally in the ongoing ICC CWC, but Wasim Akram feels Umar Gul has been the side’s best bowler so far.

By Joshua Nath

With 10 scalps in 5 games, Gul is second on the wickets’ tally for Pakistan behind skipper Afridi. Man of the Match Gul picked up an impressive 3/36 against Zimbabwe on Monday night at Pallekelle. These were his second-best figures in an ICC Cricket World Cup. He has 14 wickets in the tournament so far.

“Umar is actually one of the best bowlers in the tournament. He along with Dale Steyn has been the best so far. Gul is bowling like a true match-winner. The way he runs in to the crease, his line and length have all been impeccable. Against Zimbabwe he was unplayable,” Akram told Mobile ESPN in an exclusive chat from Colombo on Tuesday. 

While Akram is happy with Gul, Shoaib Akhtar has disappointed him. The fiery pacer was dropped against Zimbabwe. Akhtar went wicket-less against Kenya, bagged two against Canada and was all over the pitch in the humiliating 110-run loss versus New Zealand. Akram feels the Rawalpindi Express is struggling big time.

“I do not think he is carrying an injury. I feel he was dropped from the Zimbabwe clash. He is looking far from convincing. Especially in his second and third spells he is way less effective. I know him as a player, he has played under me and I know what he is going through,” said the 44-year-old Akram.

Akram: When will Afridi learn to bat?

Wasim Akram writes Pakistan ’s batting is a worry and the team can’t afford to play an extra bowler.

By Wasim Akram

Pakistan may have entered the quarterfinals of the World Cup, but the team's weaknesses are surfacing every now and then. The big game against Australia in Colombo on March 19 will be Pakistan's acid test before the knockout rounds begin on March 23.

I am feeling a bit jittery because Pakistan 's victory against Zimbabwe may look emphatic on paper but according to me, it was far from convincing. Apart from Umar Gul's clever bowling and Asad Shafiq's application that helped him score his maiden World Cup fifty, Pakistan's cricket was not what champions should be dishing out.

One of the main areas of concern is Pakistan batting. Against Zimbabwe , Shahid Afridi's decision to come up the order to finish off the game in "boom-boom" style badly backfired. Afridi's penchant for big strokes right from the start has often let the team down. Since he is the captain, batting in a more responsible manner is a must. And in any case, he should not be batting ahead of Abdul Razzaq.

Afridi surely is a bowling allrounder but his batting can be as good if wants to. After playing more than 300 ODIs, he can no longer afford to give the excuse that because of his natural aggression he is getting out cheaply. If Afridi hasn't learnt to bat in 10 years, then I wonder when he will. But for Pakistan 's sake in this World Cup, let's hope Afridi learns quickly!

Pakistan 's top batsmen should be looking to play out the new ball bowlers. Let the bowlers earn your wicket rather than throwing it away. Pak batsmen were looking under some kind of pressure against Zimbabwe. The shot selection was poor. Mohammad Hafeez scored 49 runs but looked unconvincing.

I have been saying before the World Cup that Kamran Akmal should be the regular opener while Mohammad Hafeez should be a floater. With Shafiq getting runs against Zimbabwe, I will not be surprised if Pakistan decide to drop Ajmal Shehzad in the match against Australia.

There has been a lot of talk that Pakistan should play an extra bowler. But the way they are batting, I don't think they can afford this ‘luxury.' The bowling composition also looks awry. I still don't understand why off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is not being played regularly. While Abdur Rehman bowls a good line and length and does not concede too many runs, I feel in a big event like the World Cup you need a wicket-taking bowler. Ajmal provides that option.

From now on, the road for Pakistan will only get more treacherous. The team management must think wise as the margin for error is going to be virtually nil!

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