World T20 victory united Pakistanis: Shahid Afridi

Former T20I captain says Pakistanis put their ethnics differences aside to celebrate the win

Former Pakistan T20I captain Shahid Afridi believes the 2009 World T20 win brought the nation closer.

Afridi was the man-of-the-match in Pakistan’s semi-final against South Africa and in the final against Sri Lanka where he scored two half-tons and bagged three wickets in both matches.

“The 2009 World T20 is full of unforgettable memories as it was a big victory after the 1992 ODI World Cup win,” Afridi said while speaking to The Express Tribune.

“Our competition didn’t start off well, the environment in the dressing room was not good as well because obviously we were not winning,” he added.

The 36-year-old said Umar Gul’s five-for against New Zealand in the last-eight changed the mood of the Pakistan team.

“Everything changed after the New Zealand match when Umar bowled outstandingly and from that point onwards we won all the matches,” remembered Afridi.

Meanwhile, Lala didn’t shy away from giving credit to then T20I captain Younus Khan. “The credit goes to Younus. As a captain he led the team very well,” he said.

“Younus addressed every players' problems and carried them forward as a unit. We knew the importance of the event and knew we could win this tournament if we played together; everyone knew they had to perform their own bit for the team to win.”

Afridi also described why the 2009 World T20 was special for him. “The event was special for me because I was the man of the match in both the semi-final and the final,” he said. “They were big matches for Pakistan. Also, the victory set aside differences between Sindhis, Pathans, Baloch and Mohajirs because everyone was celebrating our win as a Pakistani.”

Afridi also revealed the secret formula for Pakistan’s success during the last half of the event.

“I asked Younus before the semi-final that I was being wasted at a lower number,” he explained. “I asked him to give me a chance up in the order. He said if you want to bat up the order surely you should. Eventually, the decision benefited the team as I was able to deliver for the team.”