KARACHI – Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi criticised speedster Shoaib Akhtar for abruptly announcing his retirement from the sport midway through the World Cup.
The 35-year-old Shoaib, who has had a rocky international career due to run-ins with authorities and disciplinary issues, said he was quitting the sport on March 17 while Pakistan were gearing up for the knockout stages of the tournament.
“I think he should have consulted us properly and made the announcement before the start of the World Cup or after it. His announcement in the middle was bad timing,” Afridi said after returning to Pakistan on Friday.
Shoaib played his last match for Pakistan on March 8, when they were thrashed by New Zealand. He was not picked for any of their remaining matches.
Afridi was also annoyed with interior minister Rehman Malik, who said on the eve of their semi-final with India that a close watch was being kept on the Pakistan team to avoid any spot-fixing incidents.
“The statement disturbed all the players and made no sense. Next time people should be careful giving such statements,” Afridi said.
