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Cricket Players'Anwar, Sohail India pacers ko topiyaan pehenke maarte the': Ex-Pakistan captain makes explosive claim on Shahid Afridi
The former Pakistan captain made a rather bold claim on the reason behind Shahid Afridi not opening for Pakistan for a large part of his career.
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is widely regarded as one of the most explosive players in the history of the game. As an opener, Afridi had broken the record for the fastest century in ODIs when he smashed a ton in merely 37 deliveries in 1996 during a game against Sri Lanka. However, over the years, Afridi was shifted to lower middle-order due to his aggressive approach. Years after his international retirement, though, former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt has made a rather bold claim on the star former all-rounder.
Talking about Afridi in detail, Butt asked why Afridi didn't open for Pakistan when Adam Gilchrist and Sanath Jayasuriya, who were also aggressive batters for their sides, played in the position for their respective sides.
“Your brand of cricket is inducted if the player is ready to give it all. You look at Gilchrist, Kaluwitharna, Jayasuriya, who started it... they used to open the innings. When Misbah's tenure began, Shahid Afridi used to play at 6-7. Why didn't he open the innings? Who stopped him? He spoke on TV, 'kaptaan bata dein, main hu ya ye hai',” Butt said on Cric Bridge.
"Player couldn't take the decision about themselves. But Shahid bhai could. He was himself the captain for 2 years. Why didn't he go as an opener then?
“He didn't want to go,” said Butt.
When the anchor pointed out that Afridi did open alongside Butt during the side's tour of India in 2005, the former Pakistan skipper noted that Afridi used to “pick and choose” as per his convenience.
"Against Indian bowling during those days, Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail didn't use to wear helmets while opening. Topiyaan pehenke unko maar rahe hote the. (They used to hit them wearing caps)
“He opened the innings with me against India. That time, the didn't have an express pace attack. Shahid bhai didn't open everywhere. In Australia, South Africa, he didn't open. He used to pick and choose. He opened in ideal condition, and where the condition was difficult... it was pick and choose,” Butt stated.
