A move to give Shahid Afridi a
farewell during the T20Is between Pakistan and West Indies in the UAE has not
materialised, with the former captain left out of the squad for the three
matches. The PCB confirmed the move had come from selection committee head,
Inzamam-ul-Haq, but it fell through in the absence of the board chairman
Shaharyar Khan, who is recovering from surgery,
and executive committee head Najam Sethi, who is on vacation in England.
Afridi had plans to retire at the end of the 2016 World T20 in
India and Shaharyar had confirmed this earlier in the year saying, "He is
also a Pathan and I am also a Pathan and once the agreement is done between two
Pathans it can't be changed." However, before the tournament, Afridi
revealed that he was reconsidering his retirement due to "huge pressure" from friends and family.
Following
Pakistan's poor performance at the World T20, and criticism surrounding his
leadership, Afridi stepped down as
captain but chose to continue playing in the format. However, he has not played
for Pakistan since then, with the new selection committee not seeing him as a
part of their plans for the side.
Afridi had succeeded Mohammad Hafeez as Pakistan's T20
captain in September 2014. In his second stint as captain, Afridi led the side
to 11 victories in 24 matches but his personal form dipped. He averaged 14.65
during this period with a best of 49, and took 20 wickets.
After the
2016 World T20, Afridi turned out for Hampshire in Natwest t20 Blast the
scoring 191 runs at 17.36 in 12 matches and taking nine wickets. He also played
only one match in the recent domestic National T20 tournament, before pulling
out due to fitness concerns. He reportedly underwent an MRI scan on his knee
and was later trained in Karachi as a part of injury rehabilitation. He was
also optimistic that he would be selected for the series against West Indies,
but he was ignored.
However,
days after the team announcement, the Urdu newspaper Jang carried a report
that claimed Afridi would be selected as the 16th player for the three-match
series against West Indies in the UAE, as part of a planned farewell.
Afridi
hinted at that possibility and his retirement during a media session in
Karachi, but the statement was seen as ambiguous.
"I
have put no pressure on the board nor they on me but whatever happens it will
be good and set new precedents," Afridi said in a statement in Karachi.
"I have always noted that in Pakistan there is no tradition of players
retiring gracefully, even the big names. Every player wants to go out on a high
and I am no different.
"Players
must exit respectfully since the ones who serve the country with distinction
deserve honour. I have had a discussion with Inzi bhai (Inzamam-ul-Haq)
who is an elder to me and we will do what is beneficial to both Pakistan
cricket and my own self. This would allow players to decide themselves when it
is the right time for them to retire gracefully and with dignity."
Afridi's
decisions to retire from other formats were also surrounded by uncertainty. His decision to retire from Test cricket, immediately after
leading his side to a 150-run loss against Australia at Lord's in 2010, was
seen as abrupt. His ODI retirement, too, was muddled for some time before he decided to quit the format after the 2015 World Cup.
