Barred from playing cricket in their own country, constantly embroiled in rows and disciplinary problems, troubled Pakistan have somehow managed to reach the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup.
With Pakistan's Twenty20 World Cup title defence in complete disarray, captain Shahid Afridi has criticised the selectors for not consulting him before naming the squad.
Images from the Super Eight match between New Zealand and Pakistan played at Bridgetown on Saturday.
Pakistan Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi has held the team's poor fielding and batting display responsible for the massive 34-run defeat against Australia in the ICC World T20 Championship and rued that certain plans did not work to perfection.
With a packed four-month long cricketing schedule awaiting Pakistan, captain Younis Khan and his deputy Shahid Afridi have cleared their misunderstanding in a meeting in Karachi, sources said on Friday.
Happy with Pakistan Cricket Board's decision to retain Younus Khan at the helm of national team, his deputy Shahid Afridi said there is no difference of opinion with the captain.
Pakistan Twenty20 skipper Shahid Afridi believes the national team is balanced enough to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title in the West Indies, despite the absence of their most experienced fast bowler, Umar Gul.
Pakistan's flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi says that Virat Kohli was "too emotional" as a leader and it will take him some time to fill in the captaincy void left by Mahendra Singh Dhoni's retirement from Test cricket.
Pakistan all rounders Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik underwent regular dope tests in Johannesburg.
In a surprising move, the Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday appointed Misbah-ul-Haq as captain for the Test series against South Africa next month in the United Arab Emirates.
It was yet another Pakistan collapse at the Rose Bowl, Southampton.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today confirmed that the online process to register for the lottery system for India-Pakistan Men's match, which has now been relocated to the Eden Gardens (Kolkata) on March 19, has started at 1200 hrs IST on Saturday for a 48-hour window. The fans, in India and abroad, can register by completing an online registration form which is available on the website. The registered fans will be automatically enrolled into the random draw and then through an automated process, the winners will be chosen. The online registration form will be available here - https://in.bookmyshow.com/sports/cricket/icc-worldt20-2016
Pakistan's ODI and Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi has called on his players to seek inspiration from the exploits of tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi to make a comeback in the one-day series against England.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a 15-man squad sans the name of the skipper for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Championship in the Caribbean.
Pakistan one-day captain Shahid Afridi on Saturday apologised to the cricket lovers on behalf of the team for the recent spot-fixing scandal, which has rocked the international cricket.
Pakistan Senate's standing committee on sports on Monday recommended the cricket board to ban dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi for at least three series for ball tampering in a One-day match in Australia last month.
Some former players say allowing bowlers to alter the state of the ball will give them a chance in a game that has been slanted towards the batsmen over the last 20 years. What's do you feel? Tell us
Shahid Afridi is not the only one who thinks that all teams tamper with the ball. Pakistan's World Cup winning former captain Imran Khan and another ex-skipper Rameez Raja also feel the same.
Taking a potshot at Shahid Afridi for tampering with the ball during the fifth ODI here, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said the Pakistani all-rounder's action ended up costing his side a rare victory on what has been a nightmarish tour for the visitors.
Beneficiary of the ball-biting episode that earned Shahid Afridi a two-match ban, former captain Shoaib Malik will lead Pakistan in Friday's one-off Twenty20 International against Australia in Melbourne.
Australia completed a series whitewash, beating Pakistan by three-wickets in the fifth and final One-day International in Perth on Sunday.
The Pakistan all-rounder was on fire all through the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, Australia's domestic T20 competition, for South Australia. On Friday carried that form to the first One-Day Internation against Australia, scoring a quick 48 off 26 deliveries.
Pakistan's cricketers who were ignored by the Indian Premier League franchises in Tuesday's auction reacted angrily to the snub, with Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi saying the League's attitude is disappointing.
Sparking off a new debate, former captain Shahid Afridi has stated that there were some players in the Pakistan team who did not deserve to be in the Test side but were still playing five-day cricket despite not having the ability or commitment for it.
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan has advised Shahid Afridi not to retire from Test cricket and continue to lead the side in England.
Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi dedicated his inspiring performances in the World Twenty20 triumph to victims of the conflict in his troubled nation. 'Throughout the World Cup I only thought about winning this for those people who have been affected by terrorism in our country,' Afridi told reporters on Wednesday.
It was always going to be a toss-up between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Shahid Afridi. Dilshan's duck, and another brilliant all-round performance by Afridi, tilted the scales in favour of the phenomenally talented player from Pakistan.
Shahid Afridi cannot wait to return to the Indian Premier League and given a choice, the flamboyant Pakistani all-rounder would like to represent either Rajasthan Royals or Kolkata Knight Riders in the cash-awash Twenty20 tournament this year.
Pakistan's first sports film 'Main Hoon Afridi' is all set for release on Eid.
Electrifying Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi rated Australia's domestic Twenty20 Big Bash higher and tougher than the cash rich Indian Premier League (IPL).
Pakistan found Lasith Malinga's pace and swing too hot to handle as they went down to Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord's on Friday.
Notwithstanding the flop show in the Asia Cup, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is content with the team's performance and has appreciated the new found 'unity' in the squad.
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi does not think fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is ready for a comeback to Test cricket.
Pakistan coach Waqar Younis on Tuesday blamed the poor performance by their bowling department for the 16-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the opening match of the Asia Cup cricket tournament in Dambulla.
The Pakistan cricket team left for Colombo to take part in the Asia Cup with captain Shahid Afridi saying that the match against India would be the highlight of the event.
Former Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis has claimed that his relationship with former skipper Shahid Afridi has been spoiled after his scathing report on the country's dismal performance in the recently-concluded World T20 was leaked. "I have been very clear that report was not for the media, but for the cricket board. Unfortunately, the report was leaked and my relationship with Afridi has been spoilt," Younis was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. Waqar and Afridi's decision to step down from their respective position came days after their side's early exit from the T20 format's pinnacle event. Pakistan were crashed out of the prestigious tournament after suffering three successive defeats against arch-rivals India, New Zealand and Australia in the group stages. Talking about Afridi's drawbacks, the 44-year-old said that the main problem with the all-rounder was his inability to concentrate on a particular thing for long span of time. "Afridi's drawbacks as a captain are for everyone to see. He has got a temperament issue. He cannot sit for too long to highlight things, or absorb things and then go and implement them. I've said this in my report," said Younis.
After taking over the reins of the Pakistan cricket team in all the three formats, Shahid Afridi averred that he is determined to root out politics from the side and will not shy away from sacking the spoilers.
Shahid Afridi is not the ideal candidate to lead Pakistan in Test matches but his temperament and aggression undoubtedly made him the best available option before PCB, feels former captain Wasim Akram.
The decision to appoint Shahid Afridi captain in all three formats of the game, especially Tests, came in for sharp criticism from former Pakistani players who feel the move is a big gamble and could backfire as the all-rounder was not a regular in the five-day side.
Pakistan on Tuesday named all-rounder Shahid Afridi captain for next month's Asia Cup and the subsequent full tour of England, opting for a single skipper for all three formats of the game.
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