Captaincy (2009–2011)
BOOM BOOM AFRIDI
Afridi with his team mates during the 2009 World Twenty20 in June 2009
Shortly after Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 the captain Younis Khan announced his retirement from Twenty20 cricket the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) subsequently announced that Shahid Afridi had taken over as captain in T20Is; the appointment was initially for one match, with a decision on the permanent replacement to be made later.[37] On 31 January 2010, Afridi was caught on camera biting into the ball towards the end of the 5th Commonwealth Bank ODI series in Australia.[38] Later Afridi pleaded guilty to ball tampering and he was banned from two Twenty20 internationals.[39]
In March 2010 the board announced that Shahid Afridi had been appointed ODI captain in place of the sacked Mohammad Yousuf he led Pakistan in the 2010 Asia Cup and during his first three matches as ODI captain he scored two centuries against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh he finished as the tournaments highest runscorer with 384 runs from 3 matches.
On 25 May 2010, Afridi was appointed captain of the national team in all three formats, after he announced his return to Test cricket.[40] In July 2010, Afridi captained Pakistan in the first Test of the series at Lord's against England. He scored 31 off 15 deliveries in the first innings and 2 in the second but was dismissed succumbing to rash strokes in both the innings. After the match, he announced retirement from Test cricket again citing lack of temperament for Test cricket as the reason.[41] Afridi was officially removed from the Test squad on the England tour, but after the spot-fixing scandal saw Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Test captain Salman Butt temporarily suspended by the International Cricket Council, he stated that he might return to Test cricket if "the team needs it".[42] According a representative of Afridi, he had voiced his concerns about Mazhar Majeed – who had approached Pakistan's players – in June.[43] Majeed also confirmed that he approached Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan and Saeed Ajmal but all off them refused to be affiliated with him of his fixing menace. Worth mentioning is that the four names given above were not associated in the original scandal and that no disciplinary action have been taken against them by the sports governing body the International Cricket Council.[44]
In October, Afridi stated in an interview with Express News that the squad had been selected without his consultation; the PCB gave him an official warning for the interview.[45] Coach Waqar Younis also expressed his unhappiness at having no input in selection, however Mohsin Khan, the chief selector, defended the decision, stating "it is not written down in the PCB constitution that the coach and captain(s) must have a say in the selection of any squad".[46] Pakistan lost the series 3–2.
Afridi during Pakistan's tour of New Zealand in December 2010
The team toured New Zealand between December 2010 and February 2011 for two Tests, six ODIs, and three T20Is. Pakistan lost the first two T20Is but won the third; in final match Afridi became the first cricketer to reach 50 international wickets in the format.[47] When Pakistan's squad for the 2011 World Cup was announced no captain was named; Afridi, the incumbent ODI captain and Misbah-ul-Haq, the Test captain, were the front runners for the position.[48] Pakistan lost the first match against New Zealand by 8-wickets, the second match got rained out and in the third Mohammad Hafeez scored a century and Afridi scored a blistering 65 from just 25 balls. The following match was a tight game but Pakistan prevailed by two-wickets thanks to three boundaries from Sohail Tanvir, the match was setup by a 93 not out from Misbah-ul-Haq. The fifth ODI was won for Pakistan by 43 runs courtesy of a maiden ODI-century from Ahmed Shehzad. Afridi helped in the lower order by scoring 24 and taking two crucial top order wickets to help guide Pakistan to a 43-run victory and their first ODI series win in two years.[49]
After gaining victory as a captain against New Zealand, the PCB declared Shahid Afridi as Pakistan's captain for the 2011 World Cup. In Pakistan's opening match of the tournament, Afridi took 5 wickets for 16 runs against Kenya, giving him the best bowling figures by a Pakistan bowler in a World Cup.[50] In the following match against Sri Lanka, which Pakistan won, Afridi claimed for more wickets to help his side to victory and became the second player to have scored 4,000 runs and taken 300 wickets in ODIs.[51][nb 2] He claimed 17 wickets from 6 matches in the first round of the Cup, including a five-wicket haul against Canada,[52] as Pakistan finished top of their group and progressed to the next stage.[53] Pakistan beat West Indies in the quarter-final by ten wickets, with Afridi taking four wickets.[54] Pakistan were knocked out of the semi-finals in a 29-run defeat to India.[55] Afridi was the tournament's joint-leading wicket-taker with 21 wickets, level with India's Zaheer Khan, even though Afridi had played one match less than him.[56] Soon after the World Cup Pakistan toured the West Indies for a T20I, five ODIs, and two Tests. Pakistan lost the only T20I[57] but won the ODI series that followed 3–2.[58] Afridi took two wickets and scored 28 runs in the series.[59][60] The coach, Waqat Younis, fell out with Afridi and in his report on the tour criticised Afridi, saying "as a captain he is very immature, has poor discipline, lacks a gameplan and is unwilling to listen to others' opinions or advice".[61] After the series, on 19 May the PCB replaced Afridi as ODI captain with Misbah-ul-Haq for the two-match ODI series against Ireland later that month. In 34 ODIs as captain, Afridi led his side to 18 wins and 15 defeats.[62] Afridi subsequently withdrew from the touring squad, citing the illness of his father.[63]
