Karachi, Apr 1 : The World Cup semifinal loss to India continues to rankle Pakistan ODI captain Shahid Afridi,who said he always had a fear that his team's struggling batting line-up would collapse in the high-voltage match.
"I think the way we have been struggling with our batting, there should be a coach to work out with the batsmen," suggested Afridi after the team arrived here.
"I think I had a fear that our batting could collapse,our batting had been struggling from the first match to the last. I will give credit to the bowlers from the first match to the last.
"It was only due to the efforts of bowlers that the team which was going to score 300 to 350 runs was bowled out for about 250. This was a great effort by us," he added.
The Pakistan cricket team returned to a warm welcome with fans showering the players with flowers and shouting slogans in support of Afridi. Pakistan lost to India by 29 runs while chasing 261 in the World Cup semifinals.
"The Pakistan team has players from Sindh, Punjab,Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Our only objective was to build up this team in difficult circumstances. Our only goal was to take the team to the top," said Afridi.
Afridi once again criticised Interior Minister Rehman Malik for stating that Pakistani players would be monitored for match-fixing just a day before the match against India.
"I don't think the timing was right. He telephoned me three or four times and he tried to explain things but I could not understand what he was saying as I was busy with my work.
I think he made a mistake and I hope such mistakes aren't made by anyone in future," he said. PTI
