LONDON: Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain, has opposed Shane Warne’s suggestion of scrapping the 50-over format of cricket and urged the ICC to carry on with all three formats in order to promote the game.
Warne, the former Australian leg-spinner who captained Rajasthan Royals to the inaugural IPL title, was convinced that one-day cricket had past its ‘sell-by date’ and that, going forward, Tests and Twenty20 cricket should be adopted by the ICC as the two recognised formats.
Afridi, who holds the record for the fastest century in ODIs while scoring over five-and-a-half-thousand runs, remained confident that 50-over cricket still had a lot to offer and scrapping the format would rob cricket of some glamour and not achieve the desired results.
‘One-day cricket is still very popular among fans and players and I see no reason to do away with this format,’ Afridi, who is in England to raise money for the Swat victims, told Dawn on Tuesday.
‘If the authorities feel that the game drags on, they can reduce the overs to 40, with the required adjustments to the playing conditions. But I don’t believe it has gone past it’s sell-by date and they should definitely not do away with it.’
Pakistan’s next ODI assignment is the Champions Trophy which will be held in South Africa from Sept 22.
Confident of the team performing well despite the recent series-loss against Sri Lanka, Younus Khan, Pakistan’s ODI and Test captain, hoped the three-match winning streak will ensure his team starts well.
Losing the Test series 2-0 and the first three ODIs, Pakistan came back strongly to register wins in the final two ODIs as well as the one-off Twenty20.
‘Everybody knows how the Pakistan team functions: They start slow and gather momentum as they progress,’ Younus, who is also in London for the fund-raising event, said.
‘We managed to sort things out quickly when they were going wrong in the World Cup and we managed that again in Sri Lanka. The last three wins have given the team the bout of confidence they required for the Champions Trophy. The amazing wins will enable us to do well in the big tournament.’
Afridi also urged the cricketing world, especially the subcontinent teams, to resume tours to Pakistan. Reminding India and Sri Lanka of the visits that Pakistan made when situation in those countries was adverse to foreign teams touring, he hoped for the favour would be returned for the sake of Pakistan cricket.
‘In Pakistan, cricket is everything after religion. Winning the World Cup served as an eye-opener for the rest of the world, reminding them that we aren’t bad people and playing cricket is what we want to do. And although our fans in England gave us the support that we would’ve gotten back home, we still need to play in Pakistan for us, for the fans and for the revival of Pakistan cricket.’
While playing at home remains a distant prospect, a hectic schedule awaits Pakistan after the three-month rest following the World Twenty20.
Following the Champions Trophy, Pakistan is due to take on New Zealand — location of the series is yet to be confirmed — towards the end of the year before flying to Australia for three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20.
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