Axe Afridi from captaincy, reshuffle Pak team: Sarfraz Nawaz

ISLAMABAD - In the wake of Pakistan suffering six consecutive defeats in Twenty20 internationals, former fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz has called for a major reshuffle in the Pakistan squad and the axing of Shahid Afridi as captain.

Pakistan have lost the third consecutive Twenty20 series in last four months against England, South Africa and New Zealand, and Pakistan’s poor and dismal performance in international circuit continues with no signs of improvement, the Daily Times reports.

Sarfraz criticised Afridi’s decision to open the innings saying that once Afridi got out cheaply, it put pressure on the whole team.

“The decision of opening with Afridi has dismantled the balance of the middle order batting and there was no strategy seen in the last two T20 matches played against New Zealand,” he said.

Sarfraz also said there was no place for Younus Khan in the Twenty20 squad, and that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was forcing Younus to play in the T20 format.

Afridi, who was the star performer for Pakistan in last three years in one-day internationals and T20s, has lost his form and focus since becoming ODI and Twenty20 captain of Pakistan.

Afridi failed to impress as captain, and cricket fans and experts are now demanding to dump him as captain before the start of World Cup 2011 and appoint either Younus, who won the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009 for Pakistan, or 36-year-old Misbah-ul-Haq, who was impressive with his captaincy in two match Test series against South Africa in United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month. (ANI)