Afridi blames selectors for Pak debacle

“This is the team that the selectors have given to me. For me those were the best 15 guys I had and I also expected them to do well,” Afridi told the media after his team’s narrow one-run loss to New Zealand. This was Pakistan’s second loss at the Super Eights stage and with just one match to go against England they need nothing less than a miracle to make it to the semifinals.

“The team is coming through difficult times but to do well in this format, we need to take some good T20 players in the side. This is the team the selectors gave me. First they announced the team and then they announced the captain. May be in the future this will all change,” he noted. Asked if the captain should be picked first, the all-rounder quipped: “What do you think? I think it should be (that way).”

Pakistan is missing some senior players like former captains Younis Khan, who was in charge when Pakistan won this event last year, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik, who were banned along with Rana Naved-ul-Hasan after the team’s Australia tour.
Afridi felt his own lack of performance was one of the reasons for team’s failure to do well. “My performance is always very crucial as captain but this time I haven’t performed well so I think that’s why we haven’t done well. At this point of time I don’t want to crticise any of the players in particular also. Our fielding in both games was bad and that let us down,” he explained.

But the all-rounder then went on to say the junior players in the side lacked the fortitude for the big games. “The players are trying their best but I can’t explain why the team is not winning games. Maybe, the new boys in the team lack the mental strength (to finish close games). I think we need to be mentally strong,” he offered.

Afridi tried to play down former coach Intikhab Alam’s remark that the team was mentally retarded. “I didn’t hear anything of that sort, so I can’t comment. When I will I will tell you (my version),” he signed off.