Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik defended himself and his team as solidly as he could, dismissing speculation of him promoting factionalism in the side in order to get the captaincy.
On the eve of Pakistan’s World T20 match against Australia at the PCA Stadium here, Malik denied he led any coup against skipper Shahid Afridi.
“This is the same Shoaib Malik who gave up PSL captaincy, the same Shoaib Malik who quit Test cricket for the youngsters. Everybody knows this is Lala’s (Afridi’s) last World Cup. I respect him as much as I respect Inzamam bhai, Waqar bhai, Wasim bhai.
“He is like an elder brother. I have learnt a lot from him. Nobody will be happier than me if Pakistan wins this World Cup for him. When you lose, these kinds of things come out. They are baseless and useless... the team is one,” said Malik.
Australia captain Steve Smith, on the other hand, said his side was yet to perform to potential. “But I think that’s good in a tournament. You want to play your best cricket at the back-end. We are close.”