Afridi given another chance to prove his worth

Afridi given another chance to prove his worth 

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has been recalled into the national ODI side for the series in South Africa. Afridi was dropped from the ODI format for the tour of India after a string of below par performances, but has been drafted back into the squad for his ability with the ball. 

According to Pakistan's chief selector Iqbal Qasim said that this will be Afridi's last chance so his future hangs in a tide.

"The South Africa tour is his last (chance) and he has to perform. It's five ODIs and you need variety in your bowling. Based on his quality of right-arm legspin bowling, we have selected him," said Qasim. 

Afridi recently led Pakistan 'A' in a one-day series against Afghanistan and seems to have done enough to make the selectors recall him into the national side. 

"I am not saying you have to play him (Afridi) in the 11, my mind says we have to have some variety (in bowling). They (South Africans) are playing good against fast bowlers and we have seen if you have variety of spinners, it will give you benefit." said Qasim, explaining Afridi's selection. 

The selectors have also included former captain Shoaib Malik, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and his brother Umar in both the ODI and T20 squads. Sohail Tanvir made way for Wahab Riaz in the only change from the India series in the T20 squad. 

Misbah-ul Haq will lead the team in the one-day matches in Bloemfontein (March 10), Centurion (March 15), Johannesburg (March 17), Durban (March 21) and Benoni (March 24). 

Opener Mohammad Hafeez will lead the team in the two Twenty20 matches to be played in Durban on March 1 and in Centurion on March 3. 

"Pakistan's recent one-day showings are good as they have beaten India in India," said Qasim of Pakistan's 2-1 victory in India in January. "I hope they improve their performance from the Tests." 

Squads: 

T20: Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Nasir Jamshed, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Amin, Zulfiqar Babar, Asad Ali, Junaid Khan 

ODI: Misbah-ul Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Nasir Jamshed, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan