WT20: Shahid Afridi showed a lot of character, says Mohammad Hafeez

Kolkata Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez yesterday said skipper Shahid Afridi showed a lot of character in the way he battled severe criticism back home to guide his team to a comprehensive win over Bangladesh in the ICC World Twenty20 herePakistans Mohammad Hafeez L is watched by captain Shahid Afridi as he celebrates after scoring a halfcentury 50 runsduring the World T20 cricket tournament match between Pakistan and Bangladesh at The Eden Gardens Cricket Stadium in Kolkata PicAFPStung by criticism for his we get more love in India than in Pakistan comment Afridi led by example blasting 49 off only 19 balls and then picked up two wickets at the Eden Gardens as they won by 55 runsTo be honest its great to see someone who was under pressure from the media and people and to come up with something like this shows the kind of character he got Hafeez said referring to Afridi at the postmatch news conferenceAfridis love for India statement in the pretournament news conference did not go well with the fans back home and Pakistani great Javed Miandad rebuked the skipper saying shame on you and a legal notice too was served on the star allrounderHe was under pressure as a player because of his performances and fans were unhappy for a long time But he always comes up with such performances and brings smile back on his fans and contribute in teams wins Hafeez who himself scored a halfcentury said about his captainIts always pleasing to see him to come up and play shots everywhere The fans love it we love it as a team We know that he can take the game away from the opposition Its great to see him come back into the form with the bat and ball alsoUp against India on March 19 in the most soughtafter WT20 match of the tournament Pakistan would hope to carry forward their winning momentum he saidThat performance will boost his confidence and the whole team will definitely follow the momentum he has set in the first matchAsked about Afridis promotion to no 4 he said I was in the middle and not aware as to whose decision it was But it was a good decision to promote himself We needed someone to maintain the momentumHafeez said they are living with the tag of unpredictable since 1992 when they won the World CupWe should always think for the best Pakistan team have always been unpredictable This is the biggest tag that is with us since winning 1992 World Cup We won the World Cup after all We think we all love this tag and would like to play with that Hopefully our batting clicks and bowling gives us the support and we keep winningIt was an important game We came late here but we played a good game and got the confidence back This was a start we wanted to do well as a team really happy to do well for the teamHafeez said the Asia Cup was history now But coming into this tournament we all knew how important this tournament was We have all the ingredients in our batting The variety in our bowling makes us lethalWe have got our confidence back in the last two matches Those who were not able to perform are back among runs It will really help us in the long runAfridis innings was very important It gave us a base Overall it was a good display of team Bowling did well also The winning momentum is back and will help us for the rest of the tournamentLavishing praise on Mohammad Amir who has returned after his spotfixing ban he said He has started his career very well from New Zealand and is improving day by dayHe delivers when he is given the job We have a good variety working for the team and thats working It was a good game but still we need to well very well in the tournament to reach finalBangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza said they could have fancied their chances had they restricted Pakistan to 160170 Against the Pakistani bowling attack this was a big target On this wicket we could have fancied our chances if the target was 160170The score gave us huge pressure We couldnt execute our plans I wont blame the batsmen when you chase 200plus against Pakistani attackGiving an update on their star leftarm pacer Mustafizur Rahman he said Hes very close to be named in the XI but could not make it at last minute We did not want to risk him At this point hes the best bowler we have got We want him to be fit and playUnfortunately could not get him Hope he will play our next match against Australia in Bangalore March 21 Mortaza further said they are looking at one match at atimeWere not thinking too far and focusing on each match We will try our best in the next match It will be flatter and the challenges would be tougher We have to regroup quickly and come back strong Every match will be tough in this group