Dubai: ‘Boom Boom’ Shahid Afridi, who now plays only in the Twenty20 format of the game, is a guaranteed Twenty20 box office success for the organisers — especially in the UAE.
The moment he walks into bat, the crowd cheers him all the way to the crease.
Though at times he fails with the bat, the aura of expectation that he creates among the fans is unparalleled. When he takes the ball to bowl, the fans roar in applause and very often he takes a wicket to break a partnership and acknowledges the cheers of the crowd with a trademark arms-raised-fingers-pointing-towards-the-sky celebration as if he has conquered the opponents completely.
It is this ability to lift the excitement of T20 cricket as well induce the winning spirit among his players that has made Pakistan team selectors retain him as captain for this format. Despite being over 35, he still looks fit to take up the challenges of this format which usually comprise cricketers in their twenties.
As he arrived here to lead Pakistan’s Twenty20 team, ‘Gulf News’ asked him what kept him going? “It is my fitness. I am enjoying this format. I retired from ODIs earlier this year and decided to play only T20, as I am enjoying myself.”
It is not through his batting alone that he wins matches — though everyone knows that if Afridi is on flow, then it is Pakistan’s match. His fastish leg-breaks and an ability to provide breakthroughs plays a huge role in his teams success. Speaking about his bowling, Afridi said: I think my performance as a bowler is important because it helps the team win. I know there are times when my performance has not been good so I realise that and know that if I do well the team wins too.”
Afridi’s biggest plus is his ability to handle pressure and he leads the team just like the way he bats — without any pressure and fear. Speaking about the challenge of England, he said: “We will try to do well and I am very much excited to lead against a world class team and I think we will try to finish it well.”
Afridi’s positive approach rubs on every player in the team. “We have won the last six games, we did commit minor mistakes, but we are going through a process of trying some new players as there is still some time to improve (before World Cup),” he said.
Afridi’s philosophy towards T20 is very simple: “Mistakes will happen, but the team that commits least number of mistakes will win.”
Regarding a possible India-Pakistan series, he said: “I think cricket should go on between Pakistan and India. It develops good relations between the two countries. The people from both sides want to watch cricket between the two countries and hence it should be separated from politics.”
Afridi portrayed the feeling of the people of his country by saying: “It will be a matter of great happiness if India comes to Pakistan in this difficult time.”
Though the series may not happen in Pakistan, the fact that India and Pakistan series is being held in Sri Lanka next month has made him a happy man.
