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Upbeat Afridi regains Twenty20 captaincy

September 17, 2014

Karachi, Sep 17: Shahid Afridi returned as Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain on Tuesday and then announced that he was looking forward to leading a team of “lion-hearted cricketers” to international laurels including the next T20 World Cup in 2016.

AfridiThe flamboyant all-rounder has replaced Mohammad Hafeez, who stepped down as skipper earlier this year after Pakistan failed to reach the T20 World Cup semi-finals in Bangladesh.

In addition, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reaffirmed that Misbah-ul-Haq will continue to captain Pakistan in Tests and One-day Internationals till next year’s ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“In line with my policy of taking decisions democratically I consulted Cricket Committee and my Board members before announcing these decisions. I wish both Afridi and Misbah very good luck in their upcoming assignments,” PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said in the statement.

Chosen ahead of young contender Sohaib Maqsood primarily because of his vast experience, Afridi stressed that he would lead by example and put the country’s underachieving Twenty20 team on the victory path.

“I’m honoured to get national captaincy again,” he told ‘The News’ in an interview soon after PCB announced that Afridi has been installed as the T20 captain till the 2016 edition of the Twenty20 World Cup.

“It’s an exciting responsibility and the fact that the team management is backing my completely gives me great confidence,” he said.

Afridi made it clear that as captain he would not live with “chicken-hearted” players and would instead support boys exhibiting a “lion-hearted approach”.

“As (Twenty20) captain my message to the players would be simple: don’t be scared of failure,” he said.

“There is no place for chicken-hearted players in the Twenty20 format. You need a lion-hearted approach and that’s what I intend to promote in our team,” he added.

Pakistan reached the final of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa and then went on to win the coveted title two years later in England. But since then Pakistan’s performance graph in the tournament has dipped.

Afridi believes that unlike the past when Pakistan were among few teams with plenty of expertise in the slam-bang format, other sides have really caught up.

“Winning Twenty20 matches isn’t easy for us anymore,” he said. “Other teams have gradually learned how to flourish in this format and have hence improved.”

But Afridi was quick to make it clear that under his command Pakistan would be one of the major contenders for the T20 World Cup in 2016.

“We have a good Twenty20 team and all we need is to show that killer instinct needed to win major tournaments,” he said.

Afridi was Pakistan’s hero in their title-winning triumph in 2009 when he produced match-winning performances in the semifinal and final.

But his personal stats have taken a hit in recent times and Afridi is fully aware of it.

“I need to regain my form both with the bat and ball,” he said. “As captain I know that I will have to lead by example because that’s the only way you can get the best out of the players.”

Afridi, 34, was forced to give up captaincy in the summer of 2011 following a public spat with team coach Waqar Younis and the then PCB chairman Ijaz Butt.

Butt is long gone but Waqar is back in the saddle as national coach. However, Afridi is certain that what happened in 2011 following Pakistan’s World Cup semi-final defeat against India would not get repeated in the future.

“What happened in the past stays in the past,” he said. “I would want to focus on the present and as far as Vicky bhai (Waqar) is concerned I must say that he is a changed man and I’m enjoying working with him,” he added.

During his previous stint as captain, Afridi captained Pakistan in 19 Twenty20 Internationals between August 2009 and April 2011. Pakistan won eight and lost 11 matches under his captaincy.

He is one of the most capped players in the Twenty20 format and also one of its most accomplished. In 74 appearances, Afridi has accumulated 1112 runs at an average of 19.17 and a strike rate of 144.04. He has also bagged 77 wickets at 22.61. Over the last 12 months, he has taken 10 wickets at an average of 26.80 in 11 matches and scored 173 runs at a strike rate of 150.

Afridi will begin his latest stint as captain with a one-off Twenty20 International against Australia in Dubai on October 5.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

New Delhi, Jun 7: Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria on Sunday said that Sourav Ganguly would be fit to lead the International Cricket Council (ICC), and added there is no reason for respective cricket boards to not support Ganguly if he wants to hold the post.

In an interaction with media, the former spinner said Ganguly has all the qualities of leading the ICC as he has been a reputed cricketer and knows what a player goes through in his life.

"I also think that it would be really helpful if Sourav Ganguly goes on to lead ICC, it will help cricket and the players as a reputed cricketer will hold such a big post, he has played professional cricket, he has led the Indian side and he has also held an administrative post in the Cricket Association of Bengal," Kaneria told media.

"It depends on all of the boards whether they want to support Ganguly or not, if other boards support Ganguly and PCB doesn't, then also Ganguly would have the maximum number of votes, as a cricketer Ganguly is fit to lead the ICC, he had led the Indian side so well and he has earned a name for himself, so I don't see any reason for boards not supporting Ganguly," he added.

Ganguly had become the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last year, but speculation continued to rise over the former skipper heading the ICC.

"He is currently the president of the BCCI, he knows in and out of everything, he knows what players have to deal with and he is aware of what cricket needs, he knows what support needs to be given to associate nations, players would be able to put forward their point in front of Ganguly," Kaneria said.

In May this year, Cricket South Africa's (CSA) director of cricket Graeme Smith had backed Ganguly to lead the ICC looking at the current scenario.

"Now it is even more important to have someone in a role who can provide leadership who understands and can navigate the challenges in the game today. I think post-COVID with the things that are going to come our way, to have strong leadership is important. I feel that someone like Sourav Ganguly is best positioned for that at the moment," sport24.co.za had quoted Smith as saying.

"I know him well, I played against him a number of times and worked with him as an administrator and in television. I feel that he has got the credibility, the leadership skills, and is someone that can really take the game forward and I think that, more than anything, that is needed right now at an ICC level," he added.

ICC's elections are slated to be held in July this year and current chairperson Shashank Manohar has already clarified that he is not seeking a tenure extension.

Ganguly was exceptional in making India play its first day-night Test last year.

India had played its inaugural day-night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens last year.

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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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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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