His failure to lead Pakistan to a title-winning triumph in World Cup 2011 caused the biggest single regret of Shahid Afridi’s professional life. And Lala acknowledges it each time you talk to him about Pakistan’s run at the previous World Cup and their eventual fall in the semi-finals against old rivals India in Mohali. Many of his critics suspect that Afridi’s other big regret is that he is not Pakistan’s captain in the lead up to World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand. But ask the otherwise outspoken all-rounder and he will tell you that he is not dying to captain Pakistan again.

"I don’t know why people make such a big thing out of the captaincy issue," he told me earlier this month, just days after Pakistan’s disastrous tour of Sri Lanka prompted rumours that the country’s cricket chiefs were pondering the idea of bringing in a new captain to replace Misbah-ul-Haq ahead of the World Cup. Afridi’s name, as usual, took pole position on the so-called list of potential candidates.

However, Afridi believes Pakistan should persist with Misbah. "To the people who are criticising Misbah I have one message: Please be patient. I mean Misbah has done really well both as a batsman and as captain during the last few years and it is unfair to target him after just one bad series," he says.

"In any case it’s a bad time to put him (Misbah) and the team under too much pressure. The World Cup is just a few months away and all of us, especially Misbah, need support so that we can bounce back in the coming matches."

Pakistan cricket is almost always rife with stories of conspiracies, backstabbing and things like that. The Afridi-Misbah equation provides conspiracy theorists with a great storyline.

It was Misbah who replaced Afridi as Pakistan’s One-day and Twenty20 captain in the summer of 2011 after the latter fell out with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), then led by Ijaz Butt. "Afridi wants his captaincy back!" That’s how their story goes.

Afridi laughs off such suggestions. "People talk all sorts of nonsense. It happens and I’m not bothered by it," he says.

Instead, Afridi stresses that he gets along fine with Misbah. "As captain and a fellow senior player, I have no problems with Misbah. We get along just fine."

Misbah, according to conspiracy theorists, is not the only person with which Afridi is holding a grudge. They believe that the former skipper is also wary of coach Waqar Younis, who was the prime reason why Afridi stepped down as captain more than three years ago.

"What happened in the past stays in the past," says Afridi. "I would want to focus on the present and as far as Waqar is concerned I must say that he is a changed man and I enjoy working with him."

More than just the return of Waqar as the national team’s coach, it’s the combination of the entire team management that pleases Afridi and makes him "optimistic" about Pakistan’s chances of winning the World Cup.

"Whatever the results (in Sri Lanka) I must say that the atmosphere in our dressing room is great," he says. "There is a lot of team spirit and for that I must give credit to the team of Waqar Younis, Moin Khan, Mushtaq Ahmed. They are providing the players with much-needed support and encouragement.

"The one thing that we desperately need now is for the players to respond positively. I believe that the greatest responsibility rests on the shoulders of all the seniors. They will have to give their best otherwise our chances in the World Cup would not be bright.

"That said, I would also stress that the juniors cannot hide behind their senior colleagues. They, too, have an important role to play. In any case most of the youngsters have already played sufficient international cricket and have enough experience."

At World Cup 2011, Afridi’s excellent performance as a leggie was the prime reason behind their accent to the last four. But currently he is going through a wicket-less run.

"That is certainly my greatest concern at the moment, the fact that I’m not getting any wickets," he admits.

"I know I’m the senior most player in the need and the boys need me to do well both with the bat and ball. But my number one duty is to get some wickets.

"I haven’t taken any wickets in recent matches but I know that it’s a matter of time before I regain my touch."

Many believe that Pakistan are unlikely to go all the way in the World Cup Down Under. But Afridi disagrees with Pakistan’s critics.

"On current form we don’t come across as a winning unit but I’m sure that we will peak at the right time. All we need is our players to give their best," he says.

Pakistan suffered a major jolt last week when the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned the country’s premier bowler -- Saeed Ajmal -- over illegal action.

Afridi sees it as a big blow but is confident that Ajmal will remodel his action and get ICC clearance in time to make the cut for World Cup. "Ajmal is a key player in our side and I’m confident that he will be back soon."