I have never run after captaincy: Afridi

Karachi, Jan 18 (PTI) Pakistan''s one-day skipper ShahidAfridi has said that he is under no threat regarding the WorldCup captaincy issue as he had never run after the captaincy inhis entire career.

"I have never run after the captaincy in my entirecareer. It is something for the cricket board to decide. Ifthey feel I am good enough to lead the team in the World Cupthey will retain me if not, that is life," Afridi told thereporters before leaving for New Zealand for the one-dayseries, starting from January 22.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is yet to announce thefinal squad and the captain for the World Cup and theperformances of Misbah-ul-Haq as captain and batsman in theTests in New Zealand have made him a strong candidate to leadthe team in the World Cup.

Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal and AhmedShehzad also left with Afridi to join the national team(playing the Test series) in New Zealand for the six-match ODIseries, the last international outing for Pakistan before theICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be jointly hosted by India, SriLanka and Bangladesh.

Afridi said he was just focusing on the one-day series,which was his immediate task.

"I am taking no pressure over the captaincy. I am asenior pro and I know what I have to do," he said.

"It is obvious that if we do well in the one-day seriesand I also perform as a player it will help me and the team alot," he added.

Afridi said the series in New Zealand was an importantone for Pakistan as part of their preparations for the WorldCup.

"If we win the series it will definitely boost ourconfidence ahead of the World Cup, although the tournamentwould be played in totally different conditions," he pointedout.

The flamboyant allrounder who has led Pakistan in T20 andODIs since last year, said the team management and selectorshad more or less finalised the combination for the World Cup.

"But the players selected for the New Zealand series haveto perform well so that we can go into the World Cup with ourconfidence high."

Abdul Razzaq said he was looking forward to the series asa stepping stone to doing well in the World Cup as anallrounder.

"I want to do well in this World Cup, which could be mylast. The series in New Zealand offers us a good chance togain momentum for the World Cup."

"We have a good one-day combination and the way the Testside has been playing, it has put us in a positive frame ofmind," said Razzaq.