Afridi seeks divine help to succeed with bat
Karachi (PTI): Flamboyant Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi has sought the help of a holy man to get out of his batting slump, sources said on Wednesday.
"He told this very religious and holy man that he was finding it difficult to give his best. Shahid told him that whenever he went out to bat all of a sudden he felt pressure and was nervous and got out early," a source said.
He said the holy man had told Afridi not to worry and advised him to relax and pray.
Afridi's frustration came through on Monday night after the game against Sri Lanka when on getting out again quickly he returned to the dressing room and wept.
The source said Afridi was so frustrated and upset with his failure again with the bat that he sat down and shed a few tears with his face covered in a towel.
"He then told the management, they should drop him for the remaining games as he was not performing well," a source said.
Afridi's last one-day fifty came against Zimbabwe earlier this year and since then in his last 13 innings he has not got a half century although he has been bowling steadily well.
The source said there was talk of resting Afridi from Wednesday's game against India but the management decided that for such an important match, his experience would count a lot.
"That is why it was decided to play him again and the captain and coach told Afridi that he should forget about the past failures and just concentrate on improving his batting," the source said. Pakistan are expected to play pacer Abdul Rauf and off spinner Saeed Ajmal in place of Wahab Riaz and Mansoor Amjad against India and there is also talk that Afridi might be asked to open the innings to allow him to chance his hand in the power play periods.
The Hindu News Update Service
Shahid Afridi seeks divine help
