Afridi backs Akram’s call for early announcement of 2011 Pak World Cup squad

LAHORE - Pakistan’s ODI captain Shahid Afridi has backed Wasim Akram’s views that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) must announce the 2011 World Cup squad as soon as possible.

“We need to start working soon with the bunch of players who make the World Cup, as it is a very important tournament and I don’t want the team to mess up this time,” the Daily Times quoted Afridi, as saying.

Afridi further admitted that the recent spot-fixing scandal had affected his team, and was also hampering his own form.

“It has not been an easy year for anyone of us and I think these constant scandals and controversies have affected us. They certainly affected my form and performances,” the all-rounder said.

“No matter what you say, but these things do affect you and the team. And then the added responsibility of leading the team also affected my own performances,” he added.

The 30-year-old said that he was concentrating and working hard on his batting and bowling.

“The best thing to get out of a bad run is to go back to the basics and keep practising. I am doing that because being the captain I know how important it is for me to perform consistently with bat and ball,” Afridi said. (ANI)