LAHORE: Former national cricket team captain Shahid Afridi said on Wednesday that he was hopeful of rejoining the team after taking back his retirement.
Speaking to the media outside the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) office in Lahore, Afridi said that Misbahul Haq had supported him during his captaincy and that it was because of the seniors that the team had made it to the World Cup semifinal.
“It is about the team and not captaincy or the seat,” said Afridi responding to a question on captaincy charges.
Responding to a question on the spot-fixing verdict, the former captain said that the case had damaged the country’s reputation, but that it was also a lesson for newcomers.
He said that he was sorry for the families of the cricketers who were found guilty in the spot-fixing case.
Afridi said that he had expressed his availability for selection to PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf and added that it was up to the selectors now.
He also expressed surprise over the resignation of Waqar Younis as coach, stating that Younis was fit and he did not see any reason for a resignation on medical grounds.
Afridi had retired in protest after he was stripped of captaincy following the tour of the West Indies earlier this year. A reported rift with then-coach Waqar Younis and the former PCB chairman Ijaz Butt also came into the spotlight.
Following Afridi’s decision to retire, the PCB said that he had breached a code of conduct by announcing his retirement and levelling allegations against the board. In response, Afridi launched legal proceedings against the PCB, which were reportedly settled out of court.
COMMENTS (12)
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No more afridi.
I am glad to know Shahid Afridi has been included in the national team once again :) His experience as a senior cricketer can only make the team strong since he has a wealth of experience to draw upon as resource to help guide the team to win :)
Keen to see you again Shahid.
I love Afridi but his temper & his yo-yo decision making style has lost him alot of fans over the years. I think the team is doing good even without him and it should stay the same way at least for this series. Making Afridi captain for the one day side or t-20 match will be bad for the team since it would give out a message that says you can retire anytime you like and come back whenever you feel the conditions are in your favor.
Has this guy been cured of his "HEART ENLARGEMENT" problems.
The Lion is BACK Again!!!!
Nobody should be an automatic selection for the team. He should prove his match fitness in domestic cricket.
This guy back tracks like anything. Now he has no issues with Waqar Younis, whereas it was a different story when he left. Currently Misbah is leading the team in a steady and successful manner and I'm sure bringing back Afridi will mess up the chemistry as it will only be a matter of time before he tries to divert attention away from the team for his personal gain. I say leave boom boom alone and let him start a cricket academy or something.
I think Pakistani team should move on with all the negativity and consolidate under Ul-Haq. Afridi should let it go for good.
:O