Islamabad, June 20: Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram said to get the best out of star all-rounder Shahid Afridi, he needs to be pampered and constantly reminded that he is the main match-winner for the team.
“I have worked with Afridi as captain. The way to get the best our of him is to give him confidence and motivate hims. He needs to be acknowledged as a senior player. He has to be constantly told he is the main match-winner. He is somebody who needs a lot of attention and you need to give him that much of attention,” Akram wrote in his column for the .
“That’s why I have been saying that Afridi will be successful again only if he wants to bat up the order himself and he has proved me right by opting to bat at number three in the semi-finals. You cannot push him if he does not have the confidence. Now we know that he batted at number three because he wanted to bat there,” Akram further wrote.
“If he believes in himself and bats up the order, it shows that he still reckons that he can win games with his batting. I don’t think we have been unfair to the man in our criticism. Afridi has been Pakistan’s premier bowler in the last two years but his reputation is built on his batting abilities,” he added.
—Agencies