Pakistan's limited-overs skipper Shahid Afridi has named Wasim Akram, Moin Khan and Inzamamul Haq as his top three captains and the late Bob Woolmer as the "best coach" he ever had.
"I enjoyed my cricket a lot under the captaincy of Wasim bhai. And my performance was good too. Moin bhai was also a tough cricketer and a fighting captain. Inzi bhai was good too. So these would be my top-three, the three captains under whom I enjoyed my cricket a lot", PakPassion.net quoted Afridi, as saying.
When it came to naming the coach who inspired him the most, Afridi could not look past the late Bob Woolmer, the most highly regarded cricket coach in the world.
Describing the Englishman as the "best coach" he ever had, Afridi was full of praise for Woolmer's ability to motivate the players and boost their confidence level.
"Bob Woolmer has to be the best coach. His coaching style was great, so when a player wasn't performing, Bob Woolmer would sit with the player, chat with him informally, all this to ensure one's spirits didn't fall and the player wouldn't get demoralized. That was a great quality in him, as players do need that," said Afridi.
He went on to declare the period under Woolmer's supervision as the highlight of his career.
Commenting on his own performance as Pakistan captain, Afridi said: "Since becoming captain, there have been two or three tours where I personally took on added responsibility and played well, and those were the tours I enjoyed most."
However, Afridi has also battled through many blows, which have hit his career over the years.
In Afridi's words, the worst lows are "when groups and cliques stand up against you and are trying to remove you! Leading the Pakistan team is very difficult." Source
