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Afridi raring to have another go at India
"I like hitting the ball in the stands and want to hear the cracking sound that comes out of the willow of my bat," said Shahid Afridi.
His slambang batting style may have cost him his wicket many-a-times but the dashing Shahid Afridi is in no mood to let go of his aggression for a more cautious approach when he tours India next week with the Pakistani team.
"I want to continue with my style of batting which is extremely simple - hit the ball back with the same force," the flamboyant cricketer told PTI in an interview here on Tuesday as Pakistan gear up for their first full-fledged tour of India, involving three Tests and six one-dayers, in six years.
"I like hitting the ball in the stands and want to hear the cracking sound that comes out of the willow of my bat. I don't know why but that sound (of the wood) and the sight of seeing the ball land in the enclosures gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction," he said.
Afridi, who holds the world record for hitting the most sixes in one-day internationals, scored a match-winning 141 in the second innings against India at Chennai on the previous tour in 1999 that came off 191 balls and included 21 fours and three sixes.
In three Tests against India, Afridi has scored 233 runs. But it is in the one-dayers in which the charismatic pathan has proved to be India's scourge as he has scored 1,024 runs in 42 appearances with a century and four half-centuries.
"The other target I have set for myself, besides helping Pakistan win the series in India, is to score a century while batting low down the order. And for that, I have taken inspiration from Adam Gilchrist who scored a marvellous 113 at Sydney last month while batting at No. 6."
With a strike rate of 105 in one-dayers and little under 70 in Tests, Afridi said given a choice he would prefer to open the innings on sub-continent wickets because of the low bounce.
