Laxman: Afridi Has No Team Ethics
Laxman - not Afridi's best mate.
Deccan Chargers skipper VVS Laxman has hit back at Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who blamed his captaincy for the team's failure in the Indian Premier League.
Star-studded Deccan Chargers were tagged as favourites to win the title at the start of the IPL, but they won just two of their 14 matches and finished last in the eight-team tournament.
Afridi on Monday attributed blame for the Chargers' poor record on Laxman's captaincy, saying the 33-year-old veteran had "lost the plot" during the tournament.
The controversial all-rounder also called for Adam Gilchrist, who took over the captaincy from Laxman during the tournament after he fractured his hand, to be given the role full-time.
Afridi's outburst prompted an angry reaction from Laxman, who said: "Afridi has no team ethics. He should know it was a collective failure because he was part of the team.
"It's probably time someone told Afridi that a captain can only be as good as the team. He is an experienced cricketer and should not be questioning the way the team functions.
"Speaking negatively about the team, let alone the captain, is just not on."
Laxman was forced to miss a large part of the IPL after sustaining his injury and he pointed out that in his place Gilchrist failed to fare much better.
"There was not much I could do after I fractured my hand," he said.
"I only travelled with the team because I was requested to by the management.
"Gilchrist was fully in charge. He is a professional and when he leads the team he does not take orders from someone sitting on the bench."
Afridi's outburst comes as a surprise given his lack of form during the tournament when he scored just 81 runs in nine innings at an average of just 10.12.
And Laxman said the reason the team had failed was because the players had not performed to potential.
"Every player should share the blame," he said. "And instead of blaming each other we ought to focus on performing better in the next edition."