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'Carrying the tag of T20 world champions means automatic pressure'

August 31, 2009 10:03 IST

The Twenty20 world champions tag has put a lot of pressure on the Pakistan cricket team ahead of next month's Champions Trophy in South Africa, vice-captain Shahid Afridi has said.

shahid afridi"Carrying the tag of T20 World Cup champions into the Champions Trophy means there automatically going to be a lot of expectations from us to do well," Afridi said.

"The way we won the T20 World Cup means we have the ability to win the Champions trophy but the only thing is we have to develop a mindset to handle the pressure as well," he added.

The experienced allrounder said he would leave the responsibility of taking major decisions during the tournament on the captain.

"The vice-captain is there to support his captain and only become effective when the captain is not available for some reason. So at the moment my focus is on continuing my good form as a player and contribute with both bat and ball.

"Having been named vice-captain doesn't mean I'm under additional pressure and Younis knows perfectly how to lead the side as a captain," Afridi said.

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