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Shahid Afridi the buccaneering batsman has been conspicuous by his absence from this World Cup. Surprisingly, Afridi the bowler has made a mark and now leads the wicket-taker's table with 17 scalps.
The Pakistan skipper is now banking on his two roles clicking in tandem while his mercurial bunch aims for greater glory against the West Indies here in Wednesday's quarterfinal.
“I am not performing well in my batting but with the quarterfinal coming up I will be more focused and I know how important my batting is to my team,” Afridi said while addressing the media here on Tuesday. “I am trying to bowl wicket-to-wicket and I am not trying to experiment,” Afridi added about his leg-spin.
Afridi credited his team's success to a well-tuned bowling unit. “All credit goes to the bowlers. Umar Gul, Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Hafeez and Abdul Razzak bowled very well and Wahab Riaz too has done well.
“Our fielding has improved gradually. Against Sri Lanka our fielding was not at the top level but against Australia we did a great job,” Afridi said.
The Pakistan skipper expressed his respect for the West Indies team but refused to read too much into its earlier exploits against Bangladesh when the host was shot out for 58.
“That was Bangladesh, this is Pakistan and the match is different. We played a few games, a warm-up especially against Bangladesh and we know the conditions here,” Afridi said.
Afridi remained guarded against queries about a probable clash with India in the semifinal at Mohali.
“I am focused on the quarterfinal and I don't know what will happen in the semifinal. I will talk about the India-Pakistan game and that is if India and Pakistan qualify for the semifinals,” he said and also did not commit on the probable inclusion of Shoaib Akhtar in the playing eleven. “I don't want to disturb the winning combination,” Afridi said.
Darren Sammy meanwhile stressed that what happened in the past will have no bearing in the game against Pakistan. “This is a do-or-die match and we must come out with our ‘A' game. You could be number one or eight but if you don't win here you are out,” the West Indies captain said.
Sammy was at a loss for words to explain the sudden collapses that have plagued his team against England and India at Chennai. “I might need some help explaining that. We can't keep losing wickets like that. In the quarterfinal we must grab the opportunity to stay on top.”
The West Indies captain remained optimistic about the recovery of Chris Gayle and Kemar Roach. “Roach bowled and Gayle batted and I liked the way they looked. Gayle is a committed fellow and he will do whatever it takes to be in the team,” Sammy said.
The Pakistan skipper is now banking on his two roles clicking in tandem while his mercurial bunch aims for greater glory against the West Indies here in Wednesday's quarterfinal.
“I am not performing well in my batting but with the quarterfinal coming up I will be more focused and I know how important my batting is to my team,” Afridi said while addressing the media here on Tuesday. “I am trying to bowl wicket-to-wicket and I am not trying to experiment,” Afridi added about his leg-spin.
Afridi credited his team's success to a well-tuned bowling unit. “All credit goes to the bowlers. Umar Gul, Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Hafeez and Abdul Razzak bowled very well and Wahab Riaz too has done well.
“Our fielding has improved gradually. Against Sri Lanka our fielding was not at the top level but against Australia we did a great job,” Afridi said.
The Pakistan skipper expressed his respect for the West Indies team but refused to read too much into its earlier exploits against Bangladesh when the host was shot out for 58.
“That was Bangladesh, this is Pakistan and the match is different. We played a few games, a warm-up especially against Bangladesh and we know the conditions here,” Afridi said.
Afridi remained guarded against queries about a probable clash with India in the semifinal at Mohali.
“I am focused on the quarterfinal and I don't know what will happen in the semifinal. I will talk about the India-Pakistan game and that is if India and Pakistan qualify for the semifinals,” he said and also did not commit on the probable inclusion of Shoaib Akhtar in the playing eleven. “I don't want to disturb the winning combination,” Afridi said.
Darren Sammy meanwhile stressed that what happened in the past will have no bearing in the game against Pakistan. “This is a do-or-die match and we must come out with our ‘A' game. You could be number one or eight but if you don't win here you are out,” the West Indies captain said.
Sammy was at a loss for words to explain the sudden collapses that have plagued his team against England and India at Chennai. “I might need some help explaining that. We can't keep losing wickets like that. In the quarterfinal we must grab the opportunity to stay on top.”
The West Indies captain remained optimistic about the recovery of Chris Gayle and Kemar Roach. “Roach bowled and Gayle batted and I liked the way they looked. Gayle is a committed fellow and he will do whatever it takes to be in the team,” Sammy said.