KARACHI: Senior Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi has blamed the negative mindset of the team for Pakistan’s defeat at the hands of the West Indies in the must-win league match of the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.
The defeat to the West Indies knocked Pakistan out of the tournament with former players and critics lashing out at the team for its appalling batting performance.
“It is the negative mindset of the players that brought about our downfall,” Afridi told reporters after returning here from Dhaka along with coach Moin Khan and cricket consultant Zaheer Abbas.
Afridi without taking names dropped a clear hint that he was ready to accept the challenge of captaincy if given the chance.
“Look we just have to change our mindset and be fearless and positive. Ok we conceded lot of runs in the last few overs but it was still a gettable target for us but our batsman just played with the wrong attitude,” Afridi insisted.
“In T20 or any other cricket you need to have a positive approach,” he noted.
Afridi said there was no major problem with the team as it had some very good players who had won matches for Pakistan before against top sides.
“These same players performed well when we beat Australia so we have the right players but not the right attitude,” he felt.
The all-rounder said he didn’t think captaincy was a major issue but changing the attitude of the players was a big one.
“Obviously one can understand the disappointment and anger of the people after the way we performed against the West Indies and we have to see where we went wrong,” he said.
Asked if he would be willing to accept the captaincy, Afridi said for Pakistan cricket he was ready to take up any role or challenge.
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