'I am not going to change my batting style', says Afridi

Islamabad, Nov.8 : Flamboyant Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi has ruled out changing his hard-hitting batting style.

'I'm a very risky player and I'm not changing my style. The people should change their thinking,' Afridi told a website during an interview.

Referring to his temperamental attitude, which has resulted in his dismissal at several crucial junctures, Afridi said it was in his blood, and that he would take time to do away with those ‘qualities'.

'It's in the blood. A bad temper is a natural thing in ‘Pakhtuns' but with time everything settles down. A lot of bad things happen in your life because of your bad temper and I think you learn from these things. Some people learn quickly, some people take their time. I want to take my time,' he said.

Commenting on the massive commercialisation of the sport, the vice-captain of Pakistan's one-day squad said cricket has become a business nowadays.

'It's like a business. If you look at a cricketer's life, if he's not playing international cricket, he's playing county cricket or domestic cricket. So may be a cricketer should be more choosy or selective about which cricket he's going to play,' The Dawn quoted Afridi, as saying.

Replying to a question regarding refusal of foreign teams to tour Pakistan due to security reasons, he said conditions in Pakistan were quite similar to those in Sri Lanka, India and England but teams were still touring those countries.

Afridi said people in Pakistan want international cricket to resume in the country as soon as possible.

'After religion, cricket was everything in Pakistan and because the Pakistani people are very crazy about cricket they would love to see teams coming back to play there, and that's what we want as well,' he said.

--ANI