Shahid Afridi feels there are a lot of similarities between him and Virender Sehwag

Karachi: Shahid Afridi could have been a Virender Sehwag but for dressing room support.

Afridi says there are many similarities between him and the Indian batsman but rues that he never enjoyed the support of his coach and captain.

?There are a lot of similarities between me and him (Sehwag) with the most notable being that we are aggressive and positive. We both like to hold the bull by the horns,? the Pakistani allrounder said on Tuesday.

?But the difference between us is that he has the complete confidence and support of his coach and captain which I don?t enjoy. If I get my share of support from the dressing room, I will certainly be an improved player,? Afridi said.

Praising Sehwag, Afridi said: ?He is explosive, no doubt about that. He is capable of tearing apart any bowling attack and he has shown that quite often. We still remember the day he had sent us on leather chase in Multan.?

Sehwag hit a record 309 in that Test to become India?s only triple centurion.

His slam-bang batting style may have cost him his wicket many a time but Afridi, however, is in no mood to let go of his aggression for a more cautious approach.

?I want to continue with my style of batting which is extremely simple ? hit the ball back with the same force,? the flamboyant cricketer said in an interview on Tuesday.

?I like hitting the ball in the stands and want to hear the cracking sound that comes out of the willow. I don?t know why but that sound (of the wood) and the sight of seeing the ball land in the enclosures gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction,? he said.

Afridi scored a match-winning 141 in the second innings against India in Chennai on the previous tour in 1999 and that came off 191 balls and included 21 fours and three sixes. In three Tests against India, Afridi has scored 233 runs. But it is in the one-dayers in which the charismatic Afridi has proved to be India?s scourge as he has scored 1,024 runs in 42 appearances.

Afridi is eyeing to hit more centuries although he knows it could be difficult considering that he would be batting lower down the order.

With a strike rate of 105 in one-dayers and little under 70 in Tests, Afridi said given a choice he would prefer to open the innings on sub-continent wickets.

?But I think I have been selected for this tour as a bowler who can bat instead of 1999 when I was picked as a batsman who could bowl, which means batting down the order and bowling more than before.?

Afridi said he was not targeting any Indian bowler but added in a lighter vein that the Pakistani public would want him to sort out Irfan Pathan.

?What a sight it would be ? one Pathan attacking another Pathan! Irfan caused a lot of problems for us last year and I think our people have not been able to digest that.

Maybe they want me to avenge that but the bottomline is that he has six deliveries in an over while it will take just one ball for me to make a mistake,? he said. (PTI)