BY FAWAD HUSSAIN
DOHA: Four years ago Pakistan’s cricket preparations for the 2011 World Cup were rocked by a match-fixing scandal that saw three of its key players banned for foul play.
Fast forward to the 2015 edition and you find Pakistan struggling for wins and ICC’s shock ban on world’s top spinner Saeed Ajmal for an illegal bowling action has added to its woes.
The Ajmal setback followed Pakistan’s poor show on the tour of Sri Lanka in August where they lost the Test and ODI series, prompting former cricketers to call for young blood.
“I don’t think team’s preparations for the World Cup are in the right direction,” former captain Ramiz Raja said following the 2-1 ODI defeat in Sri Lanka.
“We need to find new talent if we want to succeed,” Raja said.
However, Pakistan’s charismatic all-rounder and skipper at the 2011 World Cup Shahid Afridi is not reading too much into the team’s dismal form in Sri Lanka last month.
Afridi led the side to 2011 World Cup semi-final despite the shock of losing key trio of former captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
In a candid interview with The Peninsula from Karachi, the former captain said Pakistan will be a force to reckon at the 2015 World Cup by peaking at the right time.
“On current form our chances may not look very bright but I’m confident that this team has the guts to go all the way,” said the all-rounder adding that the senior players should hold more responsibility.
“I think that it is the team’s senior players who have the greatest responsibility on their shoulders. If Pakistan wants to win the World Cup, all the senior players will have to give their best,” Afridi said over phone.
“But that doesn’t mean that the juniors will have a secondary role. They need to click and in any case we don’t have any newcomers in the team because the junior ones have now played sufficient international cricket.”
Rejecting the notion that he was after captaincy, Afridi, a veteran of 381 ODIs backed Misbahul Haq as captain and gave thumbs up to the team management comprising manager Moin Khan, coach Waqar Younus and bowling consultant Mushtaq Ahmed.
“The atmosphere in Pakistan’s dressing room is great. I would say that the combination of Waqar, Moin and Mushtaq is a good one. They are giving the players their all out support and that’s a great thing. I believe that it’s the players’ responsibility to respond positively.”
The leg-spinner with 378 ODI scalps is struggling with poor form with the ball, having claimed just four wickets from his last 10 matches. He failed to take a single wicket in the series against Sri Lanka.Afridi admitted a lean bowling patch but said he will bounce back.
“Personally, I believe that as the team’s senior most player I have to contribute both as bowler and batsman. But my primary job is to get some wickets. Recently, I have gone through a lean patch as far as the wickets are concerned but I’m confident of getting my groove back.”
The veteran all-rounder was also confident of Ajmal’s return before the 2015 World Cup after the off-spinner modified his bowling action.
“Ajmal is a key player in our side and I’m confident that he will be back soon,” Afridi, who was part of the Pakistan side that lost the 1999 World Cup to Australia in England, added.
THE PENINSULA
