Afridi says it’s time for the seniors to deliver

Experienced all-rounder hoping stint in Australian league will help.

KARACHI: Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi said that is time for him and other senior players to give something back to the country after having played so much cricket in their careers.

Afridi, who is a veteran of 391 ODIs, 27 Tests and 77 T20Is, is still going strong after having made his debut way back in 1996 but has announced his retirement from ODIs after the 2015 World Cup.

“It’s time to give something back to Pakistan with our performances,” said Afridi. “As senior players, there is a big responsibility on me and others to perform.”



Afridi is closing in on a landmark 400 wickets and 8,000 runs in ODIs. Right now, he has picked up 393 wickets and has scored 7,948 runs in his career. And in his view, his stint in the Big Bash League will go a long way in helping him perform Down Under.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing in Australia and the Big Bash will certainly help me,” he said. “The pitches have changed a lot from what they used to be in the 90s, so hopefully our batsmen will adjust.”

Afridi hoped that the likes of Muhammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz would be able to do their job up front by picking up early wickets.

He also praised the coaching staff for fine-tuning the bowling abilities of Haris Sohail and Ahmed Shahzad ahead of the mega event.

Afridi stated that it would be unfair to compare the side with that of 1992, even though their mixture of youth and experience is similar.

Speaking about Saeed Ajmal, the leg-spinner said: “Ajmal may have cleared the test but you can’t say how effective he is with the new action and maybe after a domestic season, we can see where he stands.”

Misbah rues Junaid loss

Pakistan skipper Misbahul Haq admitted that Junaid Khan’s injury has made life difficult for him as the World Cup approaches.

Junaid, who was ruled out due to a hamstring injury, has been heading Pakistan’s inexperienced pace attack in the last 12 months. “Junaid was an experienced bowler and has performed well in the last couple of years, especially in the ODIs,” said Misbah.



Like Afridi, Misbah also expressed doubt over Ajmal being ready for the World Cup. “It’s a tough decision because Ajmal hasn’t played any sort of cricket for the last five or six months,” said the skipper when asked whether the off-spinner should have been called in Junaid’s place.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th,  2015.

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