Kaneria's poor show hurt Pakistan: Afridi

[DesiChap]

KARACHI: The flamboyant Shahid Afridi was sitting thousands of miles away from the first Test action at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground in New Delhi but he remained immersed in the action which eventually saw India emerge as winners yesterday. Sent back home after the one-day series defeat, Afridi had no doubt that had the other bowlers given more support to Shoaib Akhtar the result might have been different in the first Test. “Shoaib was outstanding. But I am disappointed that Danish (Kaneria) didn’t take more wickets. The situation was tailor-made for him,†Afridi told MiD DAY yesterday. In a low-scoring match, leg-spinner Kaneria failed to claim a wicket in India’s run chase. Old action Afridi advised Kaneria to go back to his old bowling action. “His action in the Test didn’t work. His bowling has lost the edge. He should go back to his old action and take a few steps. He needs to give his deliveries more flight and not experiment too much,†Afridi, a leg-spinner himself advised. Easy target He also felt Pakistani batsmen had fallen short by around 80 runs in setting India a challenging target. Afridi said he was disappointed to miss out on the Test series. “I would have liked to be there in the middle of the action but the I have learnt to accept the selectors decision and I will be playing domestic cricket for Habib Bank from this week and continue training,†he stated. Afridi also had a lot of praise for Indian captains, Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (ODI captain). “Dhoni had this habit of trying to irritate the batsmen all the time from behind the stumps. But, since he became captain he has matured a lot and now concentrates on the real cricket. He is a quick learner and can take pressure,†Afridi said. He said that Kumble’s calm and sensible captaincy style didn’t come as a surprise to him. “I have played a lot against him in recent years and he is a tough and intelligent competitor. The Indian board did the right thing by appointing him captain for the Tests. His experience on the field and his bowling helped India win the match,†he said. He said the body language of Kumble and Dhoni conveyed the confidence in the present Indian team. “They are more confident and aggressive. We unfortunately have struggled. The captain has to be more proactive on the field and push the players if they don’t perform well,†Afridi said. http://www.mid-day.com/sports/national/2007/november/167390.htm

[Bumper]

Wow, some smart barbs there by Afridi. The legend has the temerity to analyse his fellow cricketer's games. Too bad, he couldnt figure his own cricket, out.

[praveenj]

Wow' date=' some smart barbs there by Afridi. The legend has the temerity to analyse his fellow cricketer's games. Too bad, he couldnt figure his own cricket, out.[/quote'] lol.... probably he thought all players are there in the team to figure out the problems in other 10...

[siddhu]

lol.... probably he thought all players are there in the team to figure out the problems in other 10...

except for their own game...:giggle::giggle:

[Guest dada_rocks]

My leaps are sealed:giggle: