Afridi makes retirement U-turn

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Tuesday staged yet another U-turn by showing his availability for the national team following a change of guard in the PCB and claimed that he had never retired. However, Interim Chief Selector Mohammad Ilyas said that he has to undergo proper protocol before selection.
“I have decided to make myself available for Pakistan again. I had never retired from cricket. I had only said I don’t want to play under the previous board setup. Now that a new chairman has taken over I want to play for Pakistan again,” Afridi told reporters on Tuesday.
The 31 year old all-rounder has played more than 300 ODIs for Pakistan scoring in excess of 6,000 runs and taking more than 300 wickets. The all-rounder had quit international cricket in May last year after being stripped of the one-day captaincy due to a turbulent tour to the West Indies where he developed differences with then coach Waqar Younis.
“The board now has a new chairman and the team management has also changed so I think It is time now for me to try to play for my country once again. I still have some years of cricket in me to give to the team,” the 31-year-old added.
Interim chief selector Mohammad Ilyas said that he was a player with experience and would be of great use for the team but he has to follow the procedure of selection. “We would only consider him for selection after the PCB chairman approves his availability.”
“I have heard his return to cricket in media but have to get confirmation through proper channel and only then we would be able to pick him for the team” said Ilyas. Waqar stepped down as coach after the last tour to Zimbabwe owing to personal and health reasons while Zaka Ashraf took over as the new chairman of the PCB.
Afridi was sacked after the former manager Intikhab Alam submitted a report about the all-rounder’s behaviour confirming that he had problems with Waqar over selection issues and had twice walked out of team meetings in the one-day series.
Butt later said he held Afridi responsible for Pakistan’s defeats in the last two one-dayers against the West Indies. Afridi said he had no problems playing under anyone’s captaincy as he had never run after the position.
“Positions have never been an issue for me. I just want to play for Pakistan again. I think the conditions are now better and I can give my best for my country,” he said.
An official said his comeback would depend upon the requirements of the national selectors when the one-day series was played against Sri Lanka.
Former captain Wasim Akram recently said Afridi had made retirement a joke.