Fatima Asmal chats exclusively to Shahid Afridi about his ODI captaincy aspirations, March's terror attack the passing of Bob Woolmer, the promise shown by Umar Akmal and more...

FA: You have featured in less than one third of the Test matches played by Pakistan over the course of your career. Is this why you once announced your retirement from Test cricket and subsequently retracted it?

SA: If you look at my performance in Test cricket, I think it's much better than in ODIs. I love to play Test cricket, but I thought at one stage 'They aren't considering me for Test selection, so maybe I'm just wasting my time so it's better to leave and focus on ODIs and T20s.' But after I announced my retirement, some of my well-wishers told me I should play Test cricket as well so I retracted my retirement announcement.

FA: You have repeatedly said that the workload for cricketers is too much. Why?

SA: There's too much cricket being played, and it's not like a sport anymore; it's like a business. If you look at a cricketer's lives - if he's not playing international cricket, he's playing county cricket or domestic cricket as well, so maybe a cricketer should be more choosy or selective about which cricket he's going to play. Nowadays a cricketer's career is very short compared to the careers of old cricketers. If you play international cricket for your country, you play for 10 to 12 years.

FA: It seems inevitable that you will captain the ODI team at some point. What do you think you'll bring to the team as a skipper?

SA: It's better to ask the guys, and the management how I will be as a captain, but I think the guys are very happy to play under my captaincy. But I'm happy to play under Younis Khan's captaincy as well. The point is not captaincy; the point is playing for the team with a good spirit and performing well.

FA: Many times, when you get out, it's because you played a wild shot and people attribute this to stupidity on your part.

SA: I'm a very risky player and I'm not changing my style. The people should change their thinking.

FA: You consistently highlight the need for other teams to come and play in Pakistan. Why?

SA: After religion, cricket is 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. The situation is the same in Sri Lanka, in India, in England as well, but teams are still touring there.

FA: So, what happened when Sri Lanka toured Pakistan in February-March?

SA: We all know that the security wasn't managed well. It all depends on the situation. It all depends on what's going on there, I think maybe everything will be fine God-willing.

FA: You are known to be a rather temperamental character, and some attribute this to you being a Pashtun*. Does this really mean a bad temper is an inherent part of your character?

SA: 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.

FA: The 2007 World Cup in the West Indies was obviously a painful time for the Pakistani team and much attention was focused on the investigation surrounding Bob Woolmer's death, with little insight given into how the team must have felt, having interacted with him closely.

SA: That was a very tough time in my cricketing career - our performance in the World Cup and the passing away of Bob Woolmer. I still remember those days and that was a very tough situation for Pakistan What a man he was! Great character, great human being, took an interest in Islam and read a lot of books about it.

FA: Who has been your favourite coach to date and why?

SA: Bob Woolmer. Whenever I didn't perform, he would come and sit with me, and say, 'Afridi, you're the best, you're the match-winner. Never mind if you didn't perform. I know you will definitely perform well in the next match, because you're a match-winner.' And these words were enough for me.

FA: Who should the world be looking out for in the Pakistani team?

SA: Umar Akmal, I like him a lot, and Fawad Alam as well.

FA: You are one of the most famous people in Pakistan. How do you handle being in the public eye so much?

SA: In Pakistan there's no privacy; you can't go shopping or for dinner with your family. Sometimes you like it, sometimes you feel very bored. But God has given me this life, and I'm thankful to Him for that and all praises are due to Him for that.

Fatima Asmal

*Afridi is a Pashtun. Pashtuns or Pakhtuns are a predominantly tribal people found mainly in Afghanistan and in the North-West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan.