Flamboyant Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi today said he favoured the
International Cricket Council's new rule of awarding a free hit to batsman after
a no ball delivery in one-dayers, saying it would make the game more entertaining
and exciting.
Afridi said he understood the apprehensions of fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar
and Mohammad Asif, who feel the new rule penalised a bowler harshly if
he sent down a no-ball, but felt the two bowlers would not face any problem.
"In modern cricket, Shoaib and Asif are two of the most
disciplined and accurate bowlers I have seen in one-day internationals. They
bowl very few no-balls. So I don't see them facing any problems," he said.
"The new rule will infact make the other bowlers also
more accurate and disciplined to avoid giving away bonus runs and that is a
good thing as less wides and no balls means less time lost in a match."
Shoaib and Asif have expressed reservations over the rule, effective from October
1, which says on the very next delivery after after a no-ball, the batsman can
take a free hit without any danger of being dismissed unless he is run-out.
The pace duo has said the new rule would only add to the pressure on the bowlers
in a game whose rules are increasingly a big advantage to the batsmen.
Afridi said the concept behind one-dayers and Twenty20 cricket
was to provide entertainment and excitement to the paying spectators.
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