Under-fire Afridi continues to be divisive figure

Vengsarkar blames captain for Pakistan’s early exit as Hussey labels him a ‘champion’

DELHI: Shahid Afridi has remained a divisive figure in a roller-coaster career that spans over 20 years.

Now that Pakistan’s embattled Twenty20 captain is facing immense pressure to retire in the wake of his team’s catastrophic showing in the ongoing World T20, nothing has actually changed for Afridi.

There are millions who are blaming him for Pakistan’s early exit from the World Twenty20. But others describe him as their inspiration with millions of his fans wishing that Lala will somehow manage to save his international career.

But ask Dilip Vengsarkar, the former India Test batsman, and he will tell you that Afridi was the prime reason why Pakistan stumbled in the championship and crashed out at the first hurdle.

Vengsarkar is of the view that a captain like Javed Miandad would have kept Pakistan alive by leading his team to victory in its must-win game against Australia in Mohali last Friday.

“The Pakistanis fumbled against the Aussies when things looked good for them half way through the innings but they lost the momentum when they lost wickets in a heap, mostly to some irresponsible shots. Had it been a similar situation in the 1980s, I guess Javed Miandad would have taken the game down to the wire. “Unfortunately for Pakistan, their captain Afridi, it seems, was more interested in making outrageous comments at the press conference rather than steering his team to victories,” he stressed.

But Australia’s Mike Hussey believes that all the criticism aimed at the seasoned all-rounder was a bit too much.

“You have to feel for Afridi. He’s been a champion for Pakistan over many, many years. He’s much loved not just in Pakistan but around the world. He’s always been a very, very tough customer. He has played some of the most amazing innings and been consistently one of the better T20 and ODI bowlers around,” he stated.

Sana Mir, who is at the helm of Pakistan’s campaign at the Women’s World Twenty20, described Afridi as her inspiration.

“I had met Shahid Bhai once four-five years back. He came to our camp and all the girls were very excited. He spent a good deal of time with us. We all came to know that he thinks deeply about the game as he told us about its various nuances. He has really been an inspiration and has a great following in our country,” Sana said in the lead up to her team’s must-win group game against England in Chennai.

Sana’s troops have performed better than the country’s more fancied men’s outfit but she doesn’t believe that it is a cause to celebrate.

“When our men’s team doesn’t do well it is not something that we can be proud of. We want them to do well. So it definitely motivates us to perform well. Back home the fans want us to perform well,” she said.