Thaindian News

Karachi, March 9 (IANS) Former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja Tuesday threw his weight behind under-fire all-rounder Shahid Afridi and recommended him to be the captain in all the three formats of cricket.
While the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) seems reluctant to retain Afridi as captain for the World Twenty20 championship, Ramiz inisists he is the best man to lead the side on the Caribbean tour.

Ramiz told The News that Afridi has all the credentials to be a successful captain.

“I’ll go with Afridi as captain,” said Ramiz, who played 57 Tests for Pakistan, scoring 2883 runs besides piling up 5841 runs from 198 One-day Internationals. “In fact, I’ll recommend Afridi for all three formats.”

“They should talk him out of (Test) retirement because he is capable of being a successful captain.”

Reports say the PCB does not want to continue with Afridi as the Twenty20 captain after the he was banned for ball-tampering in the final One-day International against Australia earlier this year.

Afridi was caught by TV cameras biting the ball and was later banned for two Twenty20 internationals by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

“If that’s the reason to overlook him (Afridi) as captain, then I don’t agree with it,” said Ramiz. “He has been punished already. In any case, I think ball-tampering is no big deal. It’s only that Afridi did it in a silly manner, probably in the heat of moment.”

Pakistan have been considering Misbah-ul-Haq for captaincy or senior all-rounder Abdul Razzaq but Ramiz says it won’t be a wise move.

“Afridi remains our best choice. He has proved himself as an aggressive captain. He is also an ideal Twenty20 player. He should be retained as captain.

“I personally believe it’s Afridi’s time to be the captain. He can handle the pressure. He was the best player in the World Twenty20 final last year. The only thing he needs is to relax as captain. Once he does that, I’m sure he can get the best out of the team.”