Shahid Afridi on Tuesday took over as Pakistan’s captain for all three formats and then declared that he would not tolerate the sort of ‘conspiracies’ that have dogged the country’s cricket in recent years.
According to a press report, the dashing all-rounder in an interview told that he has forced himself to come out of a self-imposed Test exile for the sake of Pakistan cricket and will make all out efforts to lift it out of the prevailing crisis.
“My main task is to make a team out of this talented bunch of players,” he stressed. “I also want to promote unity and harmony among the boys because that’s the only way to get the best out of them.”
Pakistan cricket was rocked by a major controversy when the players got involved in a lot of mud-slinging during a probe conducted by the Pakistan Cricket Board in the aftermath of a catastrophic tour of Australia that concluded last February.
Several leading players accused each other of indiscipline during the proceedings of the probe committee after which seven of the country’s leading cricketers were slapped with strict penalties.
Afridi, 30, said that as Pakistan’s new captain he would crack down on such negative behaviour.
“I will not tolerate any sort of conspiracies in my team,” he said. “I will encourage the boys to discuss their problems openly and I will tell them to bury their differences each time they play for Pakistan. When we leave on a tour I will ask them to leave all their problems behind and just focus on giving their best for the country.”
Afridi, who will be leading Pakistan in next month’s Asia Cup and more importantly during the challenging tour of England, made it clear that his is very demanding task.
“It’s a very tough task. I haven’t played Test cricket for quite some time but will have to somehow lead the team from the front on the tour of England.
“To play against Australia and England in English conditions would need a lot of guts. But I’m hopeful that the boys will rise to the challenge.”
Afridi, however, was quick to warn his fans against raising their expectations.
“It would be unwise to raise our expectations, especially for Tests,” he said. “We are good in limited-overs cricket, but will take time to settle down in Tests, which is why we need to be patient.”
That said Afridi is hopeful that a likely return of experienced players like Younis Khan and Shoaib Akhtar will boost Pakistan’s chances in the Asia Cup and in England where his team will play back-to-back series against Australia and the hosts from July to September.
“Younis is coming back, Shoaib is coming back and that’s going to help me a lot.”
Afridi is also optimistic that a few youngsters whom Pakistan are likely to include for the two assignments will also shine in Sri Lanka and in England.
“Almost as important as senior players are the newcomers because they hold the key to our team’s future,” he said. “We are planning to try out a few youngsters in the forthcoming events and I’m hopeful that they will not disappoint us.”
Afridi played the last of his 26 Tests almost four years back in Manchester and his critics doubt his chances of making a successful comeback in the longest version of the game.
But Afridi is confident he can be the sort of Test all-rounder, Pakistan has been looking for quite some time now.
“I will focus on my batting and my bowling because that’s the way I can contribute properly in Tests. It won’t be easy but I’m mentally prepared to take up this challenge for the sake of the team.”
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