Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi threw his weight behind the Pakistan team after getting whitewashed by England in the recently concluded One-Day International series. Afridi believes the players representing are the best Pakistan have got right now.
Pakistan are copping criticism from all corners after being brutally thrashed by a rather inexperienced England squad. Several former cricketers were left shocked by the manner Pakistan played in the first two games, where they got out cheaply and failed to put pressure on England.
Also Read: Pakistan cricket team gets slammed by Ramiz Raja after poor performance
However, Afridi came in full support of his team and feels they are the best players that Pakistan got at the moment.
“At present, the players representing the Pakistan national team are the best we have in terms of talent and ability. These players have performed consistently in recent times, in fact, some of them have been performing for a considerable time period. These are our best players, they are the ones whose talent we have to utilise,” said Afridi.
“We need to keep them motivated and hungry for success. We need to support the players in tough times, as a cricket fan and former player.
He feels the time has changed and attacking intent is the best defence.
“I can accept the team losing as long as they fight it out on the field. I feel that cricket has changed a lot in recent years. Now, attack is the best defence and there is no way to succeed other than by playing with an attacking intent, especially in the white-ball formats,” he further added.
“Our players are good at either attacking or blocking. Maybe, we need to find a middle way, especially for the ODI format. All our players need to back their abilities and play on their actual strength.”
Also Read: Shoaib Akhtar criticized Pakistan team after Lord’s ODI defeat
Pakistan won the T20 World Cup in 2009 under Younis Khan’s leadership. Afridi believes the current Pakistan team has got the potential to win the tournament this year and having experience of playing in the UAE will also come in handy for them.
“In the UAE, we have a very good record and have done very well against some top-ranked teams and that augurs well for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Spinners and batters will have a prominent role to play in the UAE conditions. If the ball starts to reverse, then we have the potential of being the very best, if we play to our strength, we have a good chance of winning the tournament,” the 44-year-old mentioned.
Pakistan will now play three T20I matches against England, where some regular England players are returning after completing the isolation period.
