KARACHI: Shahid Afridi is confident that his team will put aside the bitter memories of its World Cup semifinal defeat against old rivals India to give its best on the tour of West Indies which will get underway later this week.“The World Cup is history now and we need to focus on the future,” Afridi told ‘The News’ in an interview on Monday. “We have to rebuild our team and for that it’s important that we do well in the series against West Indies and I’m confident that our team is perfectly capable of doing that,” added the flamboyant allrounder.Pakistan will leave for the Caribbean on April 14 after a brief, two-day camp in Lahore which begins from Tuesday (today). They will begin the series with a Twenty20 International against West Indies in St Lucia on April 21 that will be followed by five One-day Internationals and two Tests.Pakistan have included several rookies in their 16-man touring party and Afridi is sure that the youngsters will shine on the tour.“The youngsters we have on our team are really talented and I have great expectations from them,” he said.But in the absence of Umar Gul, Pakistan’s pace attack seems pretty raw with Wahab Riaz being its most experienced member.“The pace attack isn’t that bad considering that Wahab is in good form while others like Tanveer Ahmed, Junaid Khan and Sadaf Hussain have ample experience at the domestic level. It’s a perfect chance for these boys to prove their worth in international cricket.Afridi has been pushing for the appointment of a batting coach. He even tried roping in Javed Miandad for the job but the former Pakistan captain decided against it.“I personally believe that the only thing our team presently needs is a good batting coach,” said Afridi, who is himself going through a lean patch with the bat.“We need an expert who can help our batsmen in dealing with difficult situations. We don’t need a batting coach to just give us tips or show us how to bat in the nets. The idea is to have somebody who can train the batsmen to deal with pressure situations especially when playing in big games against the top sides,” he said.Meanwhile, Afridi and his teammates were honoured at a reception hosted by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad on Monday. The premier awarded Rs1 million to each of the 15 players who represented Pakistan in World Cup 2011. Each member of the coaching staff was give Rs500,000.PM boosts team morale ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday feted the national cricket team which reached the semifinals of the World Cup, honouring them with cash awards and praise.“I praise the team’s manners, and although Pakistan lost the semifinal they won hearts,” Gilani said in his speech.“Because of this match, both the countries have been able to start the process of bringing our relationship onto the right track.“Despite a lot of problems faced by the team I think they performed very well and have made us proud. I hope they will keep doing that in future,” he said.
[Courtesy The News International]
