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The Rediff Cricket Interview / Shahid Afridi

'I thoroughly enjoy playing Shane Warne. I think he is damn easy to play'

Not so long ago, at Nairobi, the Pakistan team was struggling. They needed to score in excess of 360 runs in their last league match to enter the final of a tournament, which included heavyweights South Africa and Sri Lanka. Out strode a young lad of 16 and, in a matter of 37 balls, scored the fastest hundred ever made in the shorter version of the game. His name: Shahid Afridi.

The debonair kid, however, got noticed only after he scored a match-winning 141 against arch rivals India, in India, to win a Test match for his country. It was one of the eight Test matches -- since his Test debut in 1998-99 -- he's played in during his four-year career, though he's appeared in over a hundred one-dayers.

Faisal Shariff caught up with the exciting 20-year-old in Sharjah as he cooled off in the pool after Pakistan staged a terrific comeback to beat South Africa and enter the final of the Coca-Cola trophy 2000.

You had a great start to your career, one which every cricketer dreams of. What happened over the years? You failed to live up to your potential...

I don’t think so. It’s not that I didn’t work hard enough or something. I just think that luck is not favouring me. My performance was good in Australia; also in the Test series against Sri Lanka. You know I’m trying hard enough but it’s just not happening.

Even Sachin has had no performance at all in the whole tournament; even some of the other players have failed to live up to expectations.

Don’t you think you are a very impulsive batsman? That could be one of the reasons for your mediocre career record?

I don’t think there is any problem like that. It’s just that I want to stay at the wicket. I think the longer I stay at the wicket the better it is for me.

Why are you still unable to find a regular place in the Test side?

Only after 55-60 one-day internationals did I get my first Test game. If you look at my Test record you will see that my best figures have been in Test matches; of the 7-8 that I have played so far. Everytime I have got a chance I have proved myself, both with the bat as well as with the ball.

Can you relate your innings against the Indians when you scored that huge hundred?

The main thing that was egging me on was the fact that the crowd was totally against us. I really enjoyed that. At that time Pakistan needed someone to stay there at the wicket for a long period. And I was able to stay there for long and score 141 runs.

What went through your mind when you were batting out there in the middle?

If you look at that game, I played my natural game. I did hit out as well as spent quality time at the wicket.

What is it like playing against India? Why are all Pakistanis so aggressive on the field?

It’s not against India alone. It could be any team. I don’t see if it’s the Indians or South Africans, I just enjoy my cricket. Yes, there is a desire to defeat India. And it’s not like we haven’t defeated India enough. I think we’ve beaten them on a couple of occasions; on a lot of occasions, in fact. If they play well then they will win and vice versa.

You seem to share a special relationship with Javed Miandad. He praises you a lot and you seem to blossom under his guidance. What’s the chemistry between him and you?

He really makes me work very hard; also he is very lucky for me. He is equal to everyone. He works on every player’s fitness and then again it’s upto the players to listen to him.

And what has Wasim Akram’s influence been on you?

I think the number of chances that he has given me, or helped me get, is very encouraging. The job of a captain is to see to it that he makes a player. It’s great fun to play under Wasim Akram, and now Moin. He gets the best out of you.

When did you start playing cricket?

I started playing from the age of 11-12. I loved the game immediately but started playing the game seriously only in 1993-94. I started playing domestic cricket from Karachi Cricket Club. My brother also played cricket. That is how I really got interested. He started playing after watching Imran Khan; so did I. I started playing cricket for Pakistan in 1996.

Can you take us through that blistering 100 you knocked off in Kenya against the Lankans? In what frame of mind did you walk out in the middle that day?

I had not thought about any world record when I went in to bat, but all I had in mind was that if we scored 360-plus we would make it to the final of the tournament. My captain instructed me to go out there and get going. So I decided that I would go out and bat in my normal style. Maar Dhaad karoonga aur runs banaounga. I didn’t even know in the middle of the innings that I was on my way to setting a world record. It was all by the grace of Allah! It’s only when I got out and came back to the dressing room that my team mates told me that I had made a world record.

You seem to be a very flamboyant personality in the Pakistan cricket team. Alongwith Shoaib Akhtar, it seems that you have a very notorious reputation in the way you lead your life off the field. How true are these allegations?

Yaar, har insaan ki apni zindagi hoti hai. Ussey guzaaarne ka tarika hota . (Every individual has his own life to live. He has his own style of living it). Everyone has different styles. I don’t know if the media has created this impression of us, or we have done it ourselves. But how should it matter to anyone. As long as we don’t let it affect our game, I don’t think anyone should complain. Our side is a very disciplined one and we never let our personal lives affect the team’s performance.

Shahid, do you like to open the innings or bat lower down the order?

Any number will do for me. My thinking is that once the captain sends you at a particular number then your job is to perform and get runs at that number. Nothing else should matter.

Who is the toughest bowler you have faced till now?

I don’t think any bowler can trouble me much. But Srinath and McGrath are pretty difficult to get away. These are guys you can’t hit out against. The main thing about them is their line and length. You cannot disturb them easily. I just play them on merit and then take chances at the other end. If they are bowling really well then you have to respect them and look at the bowler at the other end.

And which bowler do you enjoy batting against most?

Shane Warne ko khelne bada mazaa aata hai (I really enjoy playing Shane Warne). The world thinks that he is a great bowler and very difficult to play, but I thoroughly enjoy playing him. I think he is damn easy to play.

What is your ambition in life?

I don’t ever think too much. Just want to play cricket; enjoy it, and earn respect. I do set myself certain targets at the start of the series. I look at my performance after every tour and set new targets for the next series.

How does Pakistan produce such young players, who perform at the highest level?

There is an amazing craze for cricket in India. The school level in Pakistan is very good. By the time the boys get to the under-14 and under-15 level, they become very good cricketers. There is talent in Pakistan.

Shahid, you were linked to some Indian actress when you were in India. Were those reports true?

It was all wrong. I used to get calls from some girl called Sonali. She used to tell me that she was from the Hindi film industry. I have absolutely no clue who she was and I never met her.

Interviews