Afridi to lead Karachi Dolphins in T20 meet

Karachi: Pakistan`s flamboyant all-rounder, Shahid Afridi, in a bid to confirm his place in the national squad that will tour India next month, has agreed to lead the Karachi Dolphins side in the upcoming national T20 championship.

Afridi had earlier turned down the offer. "Afridi has agreed to lead the Karachi Dolphins squad after we spoke to him and convinced him that given his seniority he is the automatic choice to lead his home side," the President of the Karachi City Cricket Association, Siraj-ul-Islam Bukhari said. After Afridi`s refusal, the KCCA had decided to appoint Test batsman, Asad Shafiq as the captain. Afridi, who has been struggling for form in One-day Internationals and T20 matches, this year dropped a lucrative contract with the Sydney side to play in the Australian Big Bash T20 league so that he could make himself available for the national T20 championship. Afridi said that he had decided to play in the national T20 event as it would allow him to regain his form and also convince the selectors. The allrounder has made no bones of the fact that he is desperate to play in the coming series in India, which will be the first bilateral contest between the two countries in five years. Just how much importance the cricket board and selectors are giving to the national T20 championship can be judged by the fact that the captaincy of most regional teams has gone to senior players. Younis Khan will be leading the Abbotabad side, Misbah-ul-Haq the Faisalabad side and Mohammad Yousuf will lead the Lahore Lions outfit. PTI