Lahore, April 08: Flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who will lead the national team in the upcoming ICC Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies, said he has ”no regrets” on missing the Indian Premier League (IPL). ”No I don’t have any regrets at all. In a way it is a blessing in disguise for all our players that we are not playing in the IPL before the World Cup.
”Given the problems that have besieged Pakistan cricket in recent months it is good that we have got time to work together as a team in the World Cup training camp, it has allowed us to settle down and focus on the World Cup,” Afridi said.
Several leading Pakistani players were invited to be part of the IPL auction in January, they were listed and then not a single team bid for them. Afridi feels the issue was now behind him and he was focused on the World Cup. The all-rounder said his side badly needed a break after the disastrous Australian tour so missing IPL has actually helped the team.
”We really are not following the IPL closely. We don’t know who is playing or who is not playing because the purpose of holding this training camp has been to gel the players and allow them to prepare as a team for the World Cup,” he added.
—Agencies