Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi cracked jokes and tagged Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men as favourites as he attempted to deflect the pressure off his team ahead of their World Cup semi-final against arch rivals India. A day before Wednesday's high-profile match, Pakistan decided to skip practice while the skipper amused the media with his one-liners.
Asked why the team did not train, Afridi replied: "Why, you didn't like it?" After drawing hoots of laughter, he added: "We have put in a lot of effort and today's off was absolutely necessary to save ourselves for tomorrow. New things should keep happening." The inspirational captain was on a roll and ticked off the attributes of his team mates.
"Young team. Average age is less. This is a match which will increase the average age," Afridi quipped as the assembled audience once again burst into laughter. He soon turned more serious. "The boys are really doing a great job especially the youngsters. They are ready for this game," he said.
"We really worked hard at the practice session and took everything very seriously and made sure the boys are enjoying. We are playing as a unit and I am very happy as a captain." "We are not the most favourite team for this competition. I think India is the most favourite team. I think we played above our expectations in this competition," he said.
"I say and do some emotional things to motivate my boys. We are an emotional country, in fact, both these nations are emotional. I don't think I have any credit in taking this team till here or they being so united," he said. "When the team does well it is because of the 15 players in it and it is only then that it plays as a team or a unit."
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