Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Ahmed Shehzad, Wahab Riaz and Sarfraz Ahmed on World Cup memories, future stars and dazzling peers
Interviews by George Dobell and Melinda Farrell08-Feb-2015What is your earliest World Cup memory?Shahid Afridi: The 1992 World Cup. I was very young but I remember it was Ramadan and I was getting up in the morning at four o’clock and watching the matches. That was great. We didn’t start well, but we ended it well. That was great leadership from Imran Khan.Sohaib Maqsood: The one I remember most is the 1999 World Cup. I remember most of the games. I still remember the key game we won against Australia, when we saw Wasim Akram bowl those lovely yorkers at the end. And I remember that hard defeat we had in the final. We did really well in the whole World Cup and then couldn’t put up a good show in the final. As a kid, after watching that final we were really disappointed, and after the first innings Pakistan played we went out into the street and played our own World Cup.Ahmed Shehzad: I used to watch Inzamam-ul-Haq. I didn’t get to see a lot of World Cups glued to the TV, only the good games, the big games – India v Pakistan, the semi-finals, the finals. I always wanted to play the game and practise for it.Wahab Riaz: The final that Pakistan played here in the 1992 World Cup. I remember that Wasim Akram spell in the final.Sarfraz Ahmed: The 1999 World Cup. I watched all the matches. I remember watching Wasim Akram and Shaoib Akhtar bowling and Moin Khan batting.Who will be the breakthrough player in this World Cup?Afridi: Ahmed Shehzad. He’s very aggressive, very positive. He can show the world he is someone.Maqsood: Ahmed Shehzad is going to be one of those players to look at in this World Cup. He has been really doing well for Pakistan over the last two years now and he’s been a top performer, so I’m really looking forward to see him doing well in this tournament.Shehzad: Yasir Shah. He’s a legspinner, he just played against Australia in the Test series and he did wonders for us. I wish him all the luck because he’s a wonderful bloke and a wonderful bowler. I want him to do wonders and he’s the one everyone should look out for.Wahab: Sohaib Maqsood. The conditions suit him a lot and he’s a good attacking cricketer. He’s aggressive and I think he can take on any bowler in the world.Sarfraz: I think my whole team is a breakthrough team. We are working very hard.Who is the best death bowler you’ve seen?Afridi: Wasim Akram.Maqsood: Wasim and Waqar Younis. As a Pakistani kid I have grown up watching their bowling and seeing them bowl really well in the death overs. You don’t see that much these days.Shehzad: I think Lasith Malinga. He’s in his 30s but he still can bowl some very good yorkers and if you go back two years I think he was unbelievable. He still is. He’s working really hard. I’ve never seen anybody bowl yorkers the way he did in the past. He was so accurate with it, so powerful with it. If you asked him to bowl six yorkers in a row he would bowl them.Wahab: Wasim. He used to bowl reverse swing, he used to bowl yorkers, he had a lot of varieties.Sarfraz: Wasim, Shoaib Akhtar and Waqar and, at the moment, Malinga.Who are Pakistan going to play in the final?Afridi: Any team, but I want Pakistan in the final. New Zealand have a very good combination and Australia have done well. Both of them are playing at home as well. Maqsood: Inshallah if we do. There are plenty of good teams in this World Cup. South Africa is probably one of the strongest, and Australia as well, especially in their home conditions. So I think either Australia or South Africa. Shehzad: It’s a tough question. We won’t take New Zealand lightly in this World Cup because they have a very good combination under Bendan McCullum and they’ve done really well over the past six or seven months. We should never underestimate them. Wahab: I think we will play South Africa.Sarfraz: Maybe India. That would be a good final.Destructive much? AB de Villiers was a popular choice•Gallo ImagesWho is the most destructive batsman you’ve seen?Afridi: Sanath Jayasuriya is in his own class and Adam Gilchrist. AB de Villiers nowadays, he’s done a great job. Maqsood: In recent times I would say de Villiers. He has every gear of batting. If he has to come in on survival mode, he plays really well, and he’s the most dangerous when he attacks the bowlers. He’s a really, really devastating player to watch. Shehzad: Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi. These two are legends and they’ve done wonders for their countries and I hope in this World Cup they play some innings everyone will enjoy. Wahab: There are a few but if you want one who is playing now, de Villiers.Sarfraz: I think, at the moment, de Villiers. When I was younger, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar.What’s the best World Cup match you can remember?Afridi: 1992 World Cup final, Pakistan v England. Because we won! Maqsood: I still remember the 1999 semi-final between South Africa and Australia which ended up as a tie and Australia qualified for the final. I’ve seen enough of the highlights – they were always on television, every two or three months. That’s one of the best games I’ve ever seen. Shehzad: The 1992 semi-final, Pakistan v New Zealand. They were ahead of us and Inzamam-ul-Haq played the most memorable innings of his life, which was the height of his career. I think that’s a match one should remember. Wahab: I think the 1992 World Cup semi-finals. We beat New Zealand. It was a close game. I was only eight or nine years old. The semi-final was on a school day and we got the day off for the semi-final and the final, so it was a holiday. We will try to repeat history, we will try to win the World Cup here. We are tigers.Sarfraz: Best I’ve ever seen are the highlights of the 1992 World Cup final. I was very young but I remember the highlights.Have you ever had a proper job?Afridi: No. I started playing cricket when I was very young and I was selected to play for Pakistan when I was 16 or 17, so had no need for a job. That was the job. Maqsood: I worked in England when I played league cricket. I’m not going to tell you exactly what it was but I worked there for two years. You can say it was a shop. Shehzad: No. I was very young and studying at school when I joined a club. I always wanted to play cricket. That is my passion and that is my life. I never thought of doing anything else and I never will. Wahab: No, I have never done any kind of job.Sarfraz: No.Who is the best finisher ever?Afridi: Michael Bevan. He was very talented and a very good player. I’ve never seen a finisher like him. You can say Steve Waugh as well.Maqsood: I think I would say Michael Hussey. Shehzad: There was a time when Yuvraj Singh used to finish the game nicely for India, especially if you talk about the last World Cup, which India won. I think Yuvraj was the one to pick out.Sarfraz: Inzamam-ul-Haq.