KARACHI: Ten days after being sacked as Pakistan’s one-day captain, Shahid Afridi on Monday decided to hit back at the cricket board by announcing his retirement from international cricket.
“I can’t be a part of a set-up where I’m not given any respect,” Afridi told The Media, referring to what he termed the Pakistan Cricket Board’s “ill-treatment” towards him.
“As captain I believe I did a fine job by unifying a team that was in tatters after the spot-fixing scandal,” said the seasoned all rounder. “I led the team to the World Cup semifinals. After that we won the one-day series against West Indies. Still I was stripped of the captaincy and nobody even bothered to give me a reason why.”
It was on May 19 that Afridi was removed as captain but retained in PakistanÃs one-day squad for the two-match ODI series against Ireland. The move came days after Afridi hinted at disharmony within the team management. Though he didnÃt name any names, it was understood that Afridi and Pakistan coach Waqar Younis werenÃt getting along.
Afridi, 31, even sought a meeting with Ijaz Butt but was never given a chance to give the PCB chairman his side of the story. Instead, he was slapped with a show-cause notice for talking to the media after returning from the Caribbean.
Though Afridi has decided to quit, itÃs unlikely that millions of his fans have seen the last of him. Soon after Afridi announced his retirement, federal Sports Minister Shaukutullah Khan threw his weight behind the all rounder.
