Shahid Afridi will take the field for the final One-day International against New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday (today) knowing for sure that he will be leading Pakistan in the World Cup.
After weeks of uncertainty, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) finally announced on Friday that it has retained the seasoned allrounder as the national captain for World Cup 2011 which gets underway on February 19.
The PCB announcement ended speculations that the Board might give the job to Misbah-ul-Haq, the experienced middle-order batsman who led Pakistan to a rare Test series triumph over New Zealand last month. Misbah has been appointed as vice-captain for the World Cup.
It was 17 days ago that the PCB announced Pakistan’s final 15-man squad for the World Cup but decided against naming the team’s captain.
Officially, the Board refrained from giving any reason for the delay but privately some of its officials hinted that Ijaz Butt — the PCB chief — wasn’t happy with Afridi’s performance as Pakistan’s limited-overs cricket.
Misbah’s prolific form and his success as Test captain added weight to speculations that he is being seen as the most suitable man to lead Pakistan in the World Cup.
But most experts warned the PCB that it would be disastrous to change the team’s captain so close to the World Cup.
Butt took it upon himself to ‘resolve’ the captaincy issue and went to New Zealand to carry out meetings with all stakeholders. In the end, he finally found out that Afridi was still Pakistan’s best bet as the World Cup captain.
Butt, a former Test cricketer, announced on Friday that Afridi enjoyed widespread backing from his teammates.
“I had detailed discussions with team management and players in New Zealand regarding captain and vice-captain and am pleased to state that everyone fully endorsed these decisions,” Butt said in a statement.
Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan took a swipe at the Board for its self-created headache.
“The Board paved the path for needless speculations,” he said. “Afridi was the obvious choice and should have been named captain for the World Cup when the team was announced,” he added.
Other former cricketers including Rashid Latif, Abdul Qadir and Zaheer Abbas urged Pakistan to rally behind Afridi so that the national team can do well in the World Cup.
After weeks of uncertainty, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) finally announced on Friday that it has retained the seasoned allrounder as the national captain for World Cup 2011 which gets underway on February 19.
The PCB announcement ended speculations that the Board might give the job to Misbah-ul-Haq, the experienced middle-order batsman who led Pakistan to a rare Test series triumph over New Zealand last month. Misbah has been appointed as vice-captain for the World Cup.
It was 17 days ago that the PCB announced Pakistan’s final 15-man squad for the World Cup but decided against naming the team’s captain.
Officially, the Board refrained from giving any reason for the delay but privately some of its officials hinted that Ijaz Butt — the PCB chief — wasn’t happy with Afridi’s performance as Pakistan’s limited-overs cricket.
Misbah’s prolific form and his success as Test captain added weight to speculations that he is being seen as the most suitable man to lead Pakistan in the World Cup.
But most experts warned the PCB that it would be disastrous to change the team’s captain so close to the World Cup.
Butt took it upon himself to ‘resolve’ the captaincy issue and went to New Zealand to carry out meetings with all stakeholders. In the end, he finally found out that Afridi was still Pakistan’s best bet as the World Cup captain.
Butt, a former Test cricketer, announced on Friday that Afridi enjoyed widespread backing from his teammates.
“I had detailed discussions with team management and players in New Zealand regarding captain and vice-captain and am pleased to state that everyone fully endorsed these decisions,” Butt said in a statement.
Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan took a swipe at the Board for its self-created headache.
“The Board paved the path for needless speculations,” he said. “Afridi was the obvious choice and should have been named captain for the World Cup when the team was announced,” he added.
Other former cricketers including Rashid Latif, Abdul Qadir and Zaheer Abbas urged Pakistan to rally behind Afridi so that the national team can do well in the World Cup.
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