Pakistan's three-time man of the match-winning captain was very outspoken until yesterday, before the kiwis shut him up
Pakistan's three-time man of the match-winning captain was very outspoken until yesterday, before the kiwis shut him up
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| Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram (left) chats with current captain Shahid Afridi during yesterday's New Zealand v Pakistan World Cup match at the Pallekele Cricket Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka. pic/Getty Images |
Going into yesterday's match against New Zealand, Shahid Afridi had done everything right since he along with his troops arrived in the Emerald Isles on a mission to revive Pakistan cricket with a strong outing in the World Cup. On the eve of their tournament opener, the Pakistan captain termed his team as a "dangerous" side.
A week later, after they stunned Sri Lanka, he had no hesitation in referring to his side as "the favourites".
Afridi, by the way, did not only glitter off the field. He led his troops from the front with a man-of-the-match-winning performance with the ball in each of Pakistan's three victories in the gala event ufffd against Kenya, Pakistan and Canada. But Tuesday turned out to be a leveller both for the skipper and the team.
It started off with Afridi losing his first toss of the tournament and culminated in his side's first defeat of the mega event. But unlike after their first three ties, which were followed by a triumphant and outspoken (read arrogant) Afridi emerging as the king of the world for post-match media briefings (and ending the press conference according to his convenience), Afridi evaded the fourth estate at the Pallekele International Stadium. Just after the customary post-match presentation, instead of accompanying an ICC spokesperson to the media centre, Afridi made a U-turn and dumped himself in the dressing room.
u00a0It was evident that Afridi, who has just like his predecessors backed Kamran Akmal to the hilt, wanted to face the music after Akmal yet again displayed his NON-wicketkeeping skills in plenty. Had Akmal latched on to two edges off Ross Taylor's willow, which most of the Harris and Giles Shield wicketkeepers would have collected, when the big-hitting Taylor was on 0 and 8, respectively, Pakistan would have in all likelihood maintained their winning spree.
As a result, the ICC representative managed to convince coach Waqar Younis to attend the post-match briefing. As Waqar was trying to be as honest as possible about the Akmal issue, saying that it was unacceptable for the 'keeper to drop "sitters" and the team cannot "kick him out in the middle of the tournament", he was stumped when asked about Afridi's absence. When Waqar heard the question "Shouldn't the losing captain have guts to face the international media?", even the man with an exceptional presence of mind, paused for a second and replied, "Main iske baare mein kya kahun? (What can I say about it?) Let's just move on." Moving on? With the team backwards, why should the media and the fans move on, coach (err ufffd captain)?
