Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi, who has been in the middle of a controversy for his remark that his team was "loved more in India than in Pakistan", on Tuesday said he did not intend to demean his country. PTI reported that the 36-year-old said he was only trying to give a "positive message" by showing respect to Indian fans when he made the statement after arriving in India for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament.

"I am not just captain of the Pakistan cricket team, but I am representing all the Pakistani people here and I think if one looks at my comment in a positive way then it is obvious that I did not mean to say that anybody else would matter more to me than Pakistani fans. My whole identity comes from Pakistan," Afridi said. He said his statement was meant to be a positive message to the world that cricket brings people together. He held that India-Pakistan have always got a boost because of cricket. The Pakistan Cricket Board posted the audio statement of the player on its Twitter handle on Tuesday.

For his statement, the player faced criticism from former team captain Javed Miandad among others, and was also served a legal notice on Monday. The Pakistan team will play their first match of the tournament against Bangladesh in Kolkata on Wednesday.