Don't forget MS Dhoni's record in Indian cricket: Shahid Afridi

June 27, 2015

Kolkata, Jun 27: Mahendra Singh Dhoni may have faced lot of flak for his team's embarrassing ODI series defeat against Bangladesh but Pakistan T20I captain Shahid Afridi is "not happy" in the manner the Indian ODI skipper was being targeted.

Afridi termed this as "sub-continental trend" where the cricketing heroes are pilloried after one odd series defeat.

afridi"I really felt bad in the way MS (Dhoni) has been treated after Bangladesh series defeat. I completely think it's a sub-continental trend where our heroes are not spared after one bad defeat. The media is also responsible for not painting the true picture at times," Afridi said during an interaction.

Afridi could empathizes more with Dhoni as he has also faced criticism over the years in his own country.

"I am not saying that one should not analyse the present performance of a leader or a player. Criticise him but when you do that please don't forget to also inform the world about the past. When you look at Dhoni, just look at his record before jumping to any conclusions. He has been such a tremendous player for India. His record speaks for itself," said Afridi.

The swashbuckling batsman also credited Dhoni for building a good Indian team for future.

"Dhoni has built such a good team for the future. There is so much quality and talent in that batting line-up," he said.

Afridi, who now only plays T20 format for Pakistan, also sounded positive about Pakistan's bench strength.

"Pakistan cricket's domestic structure has improved a lot in recent years. That is why we are now having a good supply line of youngsters in the national team. This team will only grow from strength to strength in coming days," observed the 35-year-old.

Afridi quit playing ODIs after World Cup in Australia and New Zealand with a record 398 ODIs. Asked if he regrets not reaching the coveted 400 ODIs milestone, he replied: "Not at all. In fact I am grateful to Almighty Allah (God) that I have got the opportunity to play for Pakistan for such a long time.

"I am very happy to play T20 for Pakistan and would like to play the World T20 in India, next year," Afridi said.

The hard-hitting batsman also said that plying his trade in T20 leagues across the world is his way of staying fit for competitions.

"I have played in Big Bash in Australia and now I will be playing for St Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). In all these tournaments, you play with some of the top international cricketers in the world and you know you will have to be at your best to compete with them," said Afridi.

While signing off, Afridi said that "India's co-operation will be needed" to resume full-time cricket in Pakistan.

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News Network
July 3,2020

Karachi, Jul 3: Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam is tired of his constant comparisons with India skipper Virat Kohli and says he would rather be compared to the greats at home.

Babar, six years younger to Kohli, has a long way to go in getting close to Kohli's staggering numbers across formats. The India skipper has 70 hundreds to his name and averages more than 50 in all three formats.

"I would be more happy if you compare to me say a Javed Miandad, Muhammad Yousuf or Younis Khan. Why compare me to Kohli or any Indian player?" asked the 25-year-old, who is in England with the national team, said in an online media interaction on Thursday.

Babar has scored 16 international hundreds and averages more than 50 in ODIs and T20s. In 26 Tests, he has scored 1850 runs at 45.12.

He also said that he is not targeting any English bowler for the series next month.

"I don’t see who the bowler is or his reputation. I just try to play each ball on merit. England no doubt has a top bowling attack and they have advantage of playing at home but this is a challenge I want to score runs in," he said.

Before the squad’s departure for England, Pakistan batting coach Younis Khan said that pacer Joffra Archer will be a handful for the Pakistani batsmen.

Babar said that he would try to play every English bowler on merit but conceded that after getting runs in Australia last year, he was keen to leave his footprint in the coming Test and T20 series in England.

Reminded that some former Test players had already written off Pakistan for the England series, Babar said they were entitled to their opinion.

"But we don’t have a bad team and already we have been enjoying our training. It is good to be back on the field after such a long lay-off. I think we have the bowlers to trouble them like Abbas, Naseem, Shaheen and others while we have some experience in our batting line-up."

Babar said he would love to get a triple century in a Test match.

"When you score a century, you naturally want to go on and convert that into a double or a triple century. This is something I would like to do during the Test series.

"I like to play my natural game but my selection of shots depends on the conditions and bowlers."

Babar also ruled out any problems in the Pakistan dressing room due to the presence of former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was sacked last year.

But he said that since Muhammad Rizwan had been playing in all formats for Pakistan in recent times, he would be the starting keeper in the Test series ahead of Sarfaraz.

"I think we first have to give Rizwan a proper chance and Sarfaraz is there as back up."

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News Network
July 5,2020

Colombo, Jul 5: Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Mendis was on Sunday arrested for knocking down a pedestrian while driving, police said.

Mendis hit a 74-year-old man, killing him in the wee hours, in the Colombo suburb of Panadura.

He is to be produced before a magistrate later today, police said.

The 25-year-old wicket-keeper batsman has represented Sri Lanka in 44 Tests and 76 ODIs. Mendis was part of the national squad which had resumed training after the Covid-19 lockdown.

Sri Lanka's international assignments, including a tour by India, have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

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News Network
March 7,2020

Melbourne, Mar 7: Ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup against Australia, India spinner Poonam Yadav said that skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has given her a lot of support.

"Harmanpreet has been of immense support. When I got hit for a six in the first over, she came to me and said, 'Poonam, you're one of the most experienced players in the team, and we expect better of you'," Poonam said.

The 28-year-old experienced bowler has played 68 shortest format games for India and taken 94 wickets at an average of 22.66.

She has been in devastating form throughout the tournament and has bagged nine wickets so far.

"So, that kind of stirred something within me. I told myself if my captain has that much faith in me, I should be able to make a comeback," she said.

"I took a wicket in the very next ball, and didn't look back since. Now when I look back at that moment, it means so much in the context of my individual performance and run to the final," she added.

In the opening game against Australia at Sydney Showground, Poonam came within a whisker of the third hat-trick in Women's T20 World Cup history, dismissing Rachael Haynes and Ellyse Perry before Jess Jonassen was dropped.

The final of the tournament will be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on March 8 -- International Women's Day.

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