May 25, 2010

Afridi will lead Pak in all three formats of Cricket


Pakistan's T20 skipper Shahid Afridi is all set to take over the wheel of the ODI and Test side as well for the upcoming Asia Cup and the tour of England.

Although the board was yet to make a formal announcement in this hold, sources confirmed that Afridi along with team manager Yawar Saeed today met Butt in his office to discuss the future tours where the glitzy all-rounder was offered the captaincy for all three formats of the game.

"The meeting also discussed the situation in view of yesterday's meeting of the National Assembly standing committee on sports which recommended that the bans and fines on players be removed," a source said.

"Afridi was asked by the chairman whether he had any problems accepting Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik back in the team and he said he was fine with their presence in the Test side," the source added.

This is the 1st time that Afridi will lead Pakistan in Tests and the all-rounder himself has not played any since mid 2006 in England.

"Yawar's presence indicates how powerful a role he is wielding these days in the cricket affairs because he was the one who convinced Afridi to make himself available for the Tests as well," another source said.

After their meeting, Afridi and Butt went into a discussion with the national selection committee at the Gaddafi stadium for the finalisation of the names of 30 probables for the Asia Cup and England tour.

Pakistan, after playing in the Asia Cup in June, will leave for England to play 2 Test series against Australia and then a 4 Test series against England.

They will also feature in four Twenty20 internationals and 5 one-dayers on the tour. Afridi recently led Pakistan in the T20 World Cup in the West Indies where they lost to Australia in the semi-finals.

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