Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has been appointed as the T20 World Cup ambassador by the ICC. He has joined the group of tournament ambassadors which includes India’s Yuvraj Singh, West Indies’ Chris Gayle and great sprinter Usain Bolt.
Dubai: Former all-rounder Shahid Afridi was on Friday appointed as the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) ambassador for the T20 World Cup starting on June 2. Afridi played a key role in Pakistan’s T20 World Cup win in 2009. He thus joined the group of tournament ambassadors which includes India’s Yuvraj Singh, West Indies’ Chris Gayle and great sprinter Usain Bolt.
“The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is very close to my heart,” Afridi said in an ICC media release. “From being named Player of the Tournament in the early stages to winning the trophy in 2009, some of the most important moments of my career have been created playing on this stage. I am thrilled to be part of this stage as an ambassador where we will see more teams, more matches and even more excitement than ever before,” he added.
Afridi was the second-highest run-scorer for Pakistan in the 2009 tournament in England, scoring 176 runs with two half-centuries at a strike rate of 140. Afridi has played in six editions of the T20 World Cup. He said, “I am very excited about the match between India and Pakistan on June 9. This is one of the biggest rivalries in the game and New York is the perfect platform to host this thrilling match between the two teams.”
(agency)
