LAHORE: Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq called his counterpart Shahid Afridi’s save against New Zealand in the Super-8 match as the boost not only for the Playing XI but for the entire team in the 2009 T20 World Cup .
Following the 13th anniversary of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup triumph, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released a video of former all-rounder Razzaq, who recalled the historic glory ride.
The former all-rounder praised his counterpart Afridi for his contributions to the team’s World Cup glory, while calling him one of the best players Pakistan has ever produced.
“Shahid Afridi is one of the best players Pakistan has ever produced. Whether it was bowling, batting or fielding, he was outstanding and those players are rare,” Razzaq stated.
“The way he took that catch [against New Zealand] got the whole team up. When someone performs like that, it automatically encourages not only the Playing XI playing on the pitch, but also the ones sitting on the bench. So I think we gathered a lot of momentum in the match against New Zealand and then we won the tournament from there,” he maintained.
In the video, Razzaq recalled the team’s discussion before the main event and revealed that then-captain Younis Khan emphasized the need for a win at the ICC event; citing that the team had not won any trophies in the last 17 years.
“Pakistan last won an ICC event in 1992 and it has been 17 years since then and Pakistan failed to win any event.
So, in the team discussion, our captain [Younis Khan] used to remind us that it’s been 17 years and we haven’t won any trophies, so this event is the best opportunity for you,” Razzaq said.
The former all-rounder then credited wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal with providing a great start to the event, while also praising the bowling attack; calling the pairing of Saeed Ajmal and Afridi as ‘unplayable’.
“If the starters play well and stop the team in an aggressive way like Saeed Anwar used to do. Thus, he gives the following batsmen a relief and a boost, who then go to great lengths not to let it go off. So if Kamran Akmal is playing and has scored more than 50 runs in six overs for the team, the next players will bat according to the run rate,” Razzaq stated.
“For the Pakistani bowlers, the best thing for us was that we had the pairing of Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi, who was very outstanding, unplayable and used to pick wickets and concede fewer runs, which worried the opposing teams.
“Then Umar Gul used to come in the kills. His four overs used to go very well and there was no room for batsmen to score freely. He used to pick wickets too,” he concluded.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan won the 2009 T20 World Cup under the leadership of Younis Khan when the Green Shirts defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final at Lord’s.
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