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Afridi may take over as captain following PCB-Younis stalemate | With the stalemate between
the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and captain Younis Khan, who had resigned from
the post earlier this week, continuing, sources privy to the board have revealed
that it may ask vice captain Shahid Afridi to take charge of the national squad.
Sources inside the PCB said Afridi might be handed over the captaincy ahead of
the one-day series against New Zealand , which would be played in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) next month. When asked about the speculations, Afridi clarified
that the PCB has not offered him captaincy of the one-day squad yet. Afridi said
he is ready to accept the challenge to serve his country, but added that he hopes
things will soon be sorted out between the board and Younis Khan. “Naturally as
the vice-captain, you have to be ready to lead your team if the need arises. But
I hope that things will be sorted out (with Younis) because he is like a brother
to me,” The News quoted Afridi, as saying. Speculations regarding Afridi being
appointed as the captain of the national team gained further momentum when Khan
did not attend the ‘debriefing session’ of the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 that
took place at the Pakistan Cricket Board headquarters at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Khan has already made it clear that he would take back his resignation only after
the PCB extends his tenure till the 2011 World Cup, and gives him more powers
as the skipper of the national squad. During a meeting with PCB chief Ijaz Butt,
Khan said he would roll back his resignation only if the board gives him a guarantee
that he would not be sacked from captaincy until the 2011 World Cup. Khan also
stressed that he wanted more powers as a captain of the national team to ensure
better results. According to sources, Khan wants Butt to give the team management
and the players a clear message that the Board will continue backing him as captain
even in difficult times. “What Younis wants is an end to all this uncertainty.
He wants the players and the officials to know that he is their captain for at
least the next two years so that they can stop conspiring against him,” sources
said. Khan had tendered his resignation on Tuesday during a National Assembly
Standing Committee on Sports hearing that was held to discuss the performance
of the squad in the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa .
The PCB, however, later rejected his resignation, but not before the game’s image
was tarnished in the country yet again. |
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