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St. Lucia: As a batsman, Shahid Afridi believes in the simplest of philosophies: see ball, whack it. Very often, he doesn’t pay much attention to the first part of the credo even. Close friends claim that he follows the same philosophy in life too; if his stint as captain of the Pakistan team is considered, you will probably agree that everything is indeed uncluttered for him.
Despite the embarrassment of not being touched by any franchisees before the recent IPL drama, he still has faith in the system and in India. "There is only one way forward," he said here on Saturday evening.
"India and Pakistan must meet on a cricket field for the two countries to meet again," he explained. "It doesn’t really matter if we clash now, or later, or even in the final. But we must play at least once," he stressed, flashing his brilliant smile.
At a personal level, of course, he might see it as sweet revenge; at a larger level, however, it would be the perfect panacea for the ills plaguing the game back home. He may not have said it in as many words but it’s clear that he has another final appearance as the team’s goal. As the top seeds of the T20 World Cup here, and as defending champions too, he is not being overambitious. But there is a catch: he has a totally new team at his command; it is nowhere near as formidable as the one that stunned the world in England last year.
He knows that it is an arduous task: but that doesn’t deter him. "Yes, we are a new side. But we are confident. We want to play good cricket here," he said. "We are a united outfit," he added, without having to explain the problems that have hurt Pakistan in recent times.
Afridi denied that it would be difficult to defend the Cup without the big boys of Pakistan. "I don’t believe in thinking who is here, who is not. It is not the best time or place to talk about missing players. I have been given a XV and I have to play with them. As far as I am concerned, these are my big players," he declared like a proud king.
Pakistan, of course, outlasted Bangladesh in a crucial Group A match. "We have always known that they are a formidable side in this format. But we got off to a very good start, and finished off the game nicely. "Yes, Ashraful and this guy put up a very good partnership but I was quite confident as I still had my pace bowlers," he explained.
