Lahore : Former Pakistani cricketers have slammed limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi for his poor performance in the recently-concluded One-day International (ODI) series against the West Indies, saying that he does not take any lesson from his past mistakes.
Afridi managed only 28 runs in three innings, and was dismissed playing reckless shots as Pakistan lost in the last two ODIs.
Former captain Saleem Malik said he never considered Afridi as the right choice to lead the national team.
“To me, he was never the right guy to be in charge but for some reason he was appointed because we had no other option,” The Express Tribune quoted Malik, as saying.
He said that Afridi, who has an experience of 325 ODIs, should have learnt to make his wicket more valuable by now.
“He should understand that he is representing Pakistan and not an ordinary team. He has played more than 300 matches, and if he is a captain, that doesn’t mean that he is forgiven for every mistake he make,” said Malik, noting that “he confesses his mistake, but never learns.”
Former chief selector Abdul Qadir also blasted Afridi for not displaying responsibility as the team’s leader.
“Afridi knows each time he makes a mistake. And it’s very surprising that he isn’t ready to learn,” Qadir said.
“A captain should have the ability to lead from the front but the spirit of responsibility deserts Afridi. He may be a good player, but his approach has damaged Pakistan cricket a lot, as we have lost quite a few matches only due to his reckless attitude,” he added.
Former spinner Iqbal Qasim also blamed Afridi’s batting woes for leaving a ‘bad impact on the team’, but added that he should be given more time to get the hang of things as a captain.
“His batting has no doubt put a bad impact on the team, but captaincy is an art. No one is a born leader and as a captain he isn’t bad. He needs time to understand things,” said Qasim. (ANI)
