I will consider test return if needed: Afridi

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi said on Tuesday that he would consider returning to Test cricket if the team needed him in the future.

‘I am available to serve the team in the national interest whenever required,’ he told APP in an interview.

‘To serve the country to best of my abilities is my main objective,’ said the 29-year-old all-rounder who last played a test match in 2006 against England at Manchester.

‘Even though it has been a while since I last played tests, I have kept my self attuned to the rigours of the five day game and will be ready to step up when required.’

Afridi, who has scored 1683 run in 26 test matches at an average of 37.40 in addition to grabbing 45 wickets, said he was looking forward to the one-day series against Australia and was keen to lead the team in the lone Twenty20 game down under.

Batting remains a big worry for Pakistan and their techniques will face the ultimate test on the hard, bouncy wickets in Australia.

But Afridi believes Pakistan have the ability to cope with the hard knocks just as they showed in the third test against New Zealand in Napier.

‘Inconsistent batting and fielding is a major worry. Unless we improve our standard in these areas we will keep struggling,’ he maintained.

‘The Aussie tour will be a great test for our batsmen. If they come up good, we can be in for an interesting series,’ he said.

While gearing up for the Australia remains a top priority for the all-rounder he is keeping one eye on next year’s T20 World Championship.

‘2010 will be an important year for me and the team but we will be starting afresh in the T20 championship in West Indies and need to stay focused.’

But before that he will be flying to Perth on December 24 to represent South Australia in the KFC T20 Big Bash.

The Adelaide-based South Australia will play their opening match against West Australia.

‘Appearing in the Australia event will be a good build-up for me for the ODI and T20 series against Australia,’ he said.

‘I am delighted to play in Australia as it will also help me acclimatize with the conditions before our series starts,’ he concluded.