Afridi best man to lead Pakistan: Akram

LAHORE – Pakistan’s legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram Wednesday hailed the appointment of Shahid Afridi as captain of the Pakistan team for the Twenty20 World Cup. Wasim believes Afridi’s aggressive nature suited the shortest the format of the game.
“Afridi has been captaining Pakistan cricket in T20 internationals and under the circumstances, he is the best man to lead in the Caribbean. He has a lot of energy and this format of the game, needs his aggressive mindset,” Akram wrote in his column in an Indian newspaper.
Akram, however, cautioned Afridi to control his emotions as the nation’s prestige will be in his hands during the Twenty20 World Cup starting April 30.
“Surely, he will now be thinking about the World Cup because the nation’s prestige will be in his hands. He just has to control his wildfire emotions. Afridi may have earned Pakistan some bad name by the chewing-the-ball incident in Perth in January-end, but all that is forgotten now,” Akram wrote.
Afridi, who was recently fined Rs 3 million for his ball-tampering act in Australia, was named skipper after he had received the President’s Pride of Performance award.
Akram said Afridi has found two able allies in coaches Waqar Younis and Ejaz Ahmed who understand the game and the body language of the players much better than others.
“Afridi has a few advantages with coaches Waqar and Ejaz. I think this is the best team management Pakistan can ask for,” Akram said.
“I am happy for Waqar. He always wanted to be the coach of Pakistan. And why not? Waqar has played the game at the highest level, he knows the modern methods and can be a hard task master. Ejaz has been one of Pakistan’s brilliant all-rounders and a good motivator. This combination should work well,” he said.
Akram said he was always available for the team and if Waqar calls him for the camps, he will be happy to go and share a few thoughts with the bowlers.
“Well, I am always available for the Pakistan team. Unlike many of our senior cricketers, I am not hankering for money from the PCB. I am available for free as long as my professional commitments are not compromised,” he said.
Akram said the biggest enemies of the Pakistan cricket were its ex-players and a lot of negative energy had flown through nation’s cricket in the recent times.

Source: http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Sports/25-Mar-2010/Afridi-best-man-to-lead-Pakistan-Akram