Captain's Corner!

Boom boom Afridi would be very happy with the way his team has fought in the previous 3 ODIs - all of them resulted in the last over finish, which is obviously very good for the game and for the Pakistan cricket. However, Afridi, himself has been disappointing not only as a batsman but also as a skipper.

Afridi, has had a bad series so far with the bat - 72 runs in 4 innings with an average of 21.50 are not an ideal figures for any captain. The issue is not his bad form but his poor temperament and inability to take the responsibility on his shoulders. As a captain, one expect him to be more mature, choosy with his shot selection and most importantly play according to the conditions. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. Pretty immature attitude - trying to hit every ball for six, playing shots away from the body, getting out in the same fashion, technical and tactical errors makes me wonder how can a player with 14 years of international experience commit such mistakes. The thing that irks me the most in his batting is that the skipper of the side is not interested to play the game according to the situation. If all he can do is hit the ball hard, than he should come up the order, may be an opener - where a quick 35-40 runs can set the tone for the middle order batsmen. In the last two games, when Afridi came to bat, the run-rate required was below 6 and the wickets in hand was the main worry, all Afridi had to do was to chip the ball for singles and doubles; but he went for the biggies and lost his wicket.

His captaincy has been mediocre as well! Mohammad Hafeez has been Pakistan's best bowler of the tour so far - claiming 5 wickets with an average of 26.8 at economy rate of 4.96 - to my surprise Hafeez has bowled only 27 overs in 4 games. Whereas, Abdul Razzaq has been most expensive (eco. rate 6); he has bowled 19 overs in 4 games. Why the best bowler of the series is not getting full quota and the worst bowler is getting 5 overs in every match? Why not give Razzaq 2 early overs and make Riaz bowl the remaining 3 overs and later utilize Hafeez's full quota. Similarly, in the third ODI when there was a need of sensible batting and not mad hitting - he promoted himself over Fawad Alam; which cost Pakistan the match.

For any skipper it is very important to perform which would lift the team's morale. Afridi has been excellent so far in managing the team; in a very short time he has gained the respect of most players. However, his performance with the bat is becoming a big question mark. He is relatively new to the captaincy and I hope he will learn more with the time.

I hope and pray this team continues to prosper and they win Monday's game and continues the brand new journey of success. God bless Pakistan and Pakistan cricket!