Afridi is 'immature': Younis

KARACHI: Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has filed a damaging report against former captain Shahid Afridi calling him "immature" and holding him responsible for two losses in the ODI series against West Indies.

Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan manager, has partially endorsed Waqar's views by writing in his report to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that Afridi is a 'highly hyperactive person' who lacks the temperament to bear with or accommodate other people's point of views.

The under-fire Afridi has been blamed by Waqar for Pakistan's defeats in the last two One-day Internationals (ODIs) against West Indies last month.

According to Dawn, Waqar observes in his report: "As a captain I feel he (Afridi) is still very immature, has poor discipline, lacks game plan and is unwilling to listen to others' opinions or advice. Besides myself, the rest of the coaching staff has worked very hard with him to improve his abilities as a long-term and successful captain but sometimes his volatile and immature nature has proved detrimental and led to unfortunate outcomes including game losses."

Pakistan won the five-match One-day International series in the Caribbean 3-2 after leading 3-0 at one stage.

"During the fourth and the fifth ODI against the West Indies, he (Afridi) came into the meetings with a decisive mindset and was refusing to discuss playing XI options. I, as a part of the touring selection committee, tried to discuss different options for the team but he behaved very inappropriately and walked out of the meeting," Waqar wrote.

Intikhab, a former Test captain, narrates in his report: "As a matter of fact, Shahid Afridi is a highly hyperactive personality who lacks temperament to listen to other people's point of views or look for solutions for the betterment of the team. Unfortunately, Waqar and Afrdi do not get along well with each other."

"Waqar's point of view is that on certain issues Afridi does not consult him, especially when to take batting power-play or change in the batting order which affects the result of the match.

"According to Afridi, Waqar interferes in his thinking, day to day routine and his captaincy and he does not feel comfortable with that. There is also one very serious issue that Waqar feels that whatever is discussed during the team meetings, Afridi has a habit to inform the media which affects the entire team."

Intikhab adds: "After winning the first three ODI matches, an incident took place during the (tour) selection committee meeting. Coach Waqar Younis mentioned that 'since we have won the ODI series we should encourage giving chance to younger players'. Afridi also wanted to do the same but there was some serious disagreement on certain players, which resulted in heated arguments.

"I have also been observing Waqar and feel that he is at times little harsh and arrogant which creates some problems," says Alam.

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