Afridi is back

Shahid Afridi finally found a place in the national ODI and T20 teams after meeting with new PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf on Wednesday. Pakistan is to play the series against Sri Lanka later this month in the UAE. Former Pakistan skipper Afridi, who has retirement U-turns quite a bit of habit, was expected to find a place in team’s limited overs squad following a sort of reconciliation with newly appointed Pakistan Cricket Board president Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf. Afridi announced his retirement after his leadership skills and his performance was questioned following the away series against the West Indies in April and May this year. The 31-year-old player was also said to have differences with then team coach Waqar Younis, who stepped down citing health problems lately.
Afridi described his Wednesday’s meeting with Zaka Ashraf as “very positive,” and within hours the temperamental all-rounder was named in the 16-man squad for five one-day internationals against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates starting on Nov. 11. Pakistan team for Sri Lanka Series in UAE (five ODI’s & 1 T20). The PCB on Wednesday announced the teams for both ODIs and T20 series. The first ODI will be played on November 11 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Reports indicate he is likely to be part of the national team sooner rather than later. Afridi told reporters that he was confident of making a comeback to the national team for the forthcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka and insisted that he still has a lot to deliver.
“I still have a lot to offer to the Pakistan cricket and I am grateful to the Chairman for meeting me and listening to me. I am grateful that he raised my morale a lot,” Afridi said after his meeting with Ashraf.
The flamboyant cricketer, though, admitted that his selection into the squad was up to the national selection committee. “Muhammad Illyas is the chief selector and it is for him to decide what to do,” Afridi said. The 31-year-old cricketer added that he was ready to perform any role assigned to him and insisted that he shared a good relationship with the current skipper of the team, Misbah-ul-Haq. “I just want to play for Pakistan and it is for the board to decide in what capacity I play. I am willing to play under any captain. I have captained the side and now I am willing to accept any role in the team because I just want to play for my country,” Afridi said. The all-rounder, who had earlier in May decided to quit playing the international cricket in protest against board’s decision to remove him from the captaincy after the West Indies tour, said with the change of guard at the helm he was ready to resume his career.
“At that time I thought it was not right for me to play, so I quit, but now with a new Chairman I want to come back,” he said.
Afridi also backed Ashraf`s suggestion of having separate coaches for batting, bowling and fielding in the team. “I think it is a very good idea and it really does not matter whether we have foreign or local coaches. But the coaches should be qualified and should have the ability to support and lift the players even if they are not performing and not run them down,” he insisted. In an apparent dig at former coach, Waqar Younis, with whom his differences are well known, Afridi said, “I don`t know why he resigned as coach but he certainly didn`t look ill to me. He was very robust and healthy as far I know.” Younis stepped down as the coach of Pakistan team after the Zimbabwe tour, citing personal and health reasons. Pakistan is scheduled to play five limited-overs internationals against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates starting Nov. 11.
Ashraf, who took over from Butt last month, had said he wanted to see Afridi back in action in the one-day and Twenty20 cricket formats. But the new PCB chief also wanted to consult other senior PCB officials. The new PCB chief wanted to have three specialist coaches for the national team — bowling, batting and fielding. That concept has Afridi’s support. “The only thing I like to see is that all three coaches should have done specialized courses in their respective fields,” he said. “That’s the only way they could be held accountable.”
The team includes Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Juanid Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Abdul Razzaq, Asad Shafiq.