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Afridi retires from international cricket,

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 News, 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 allrounder. “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 Pakistanís 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 didnít name any names, it was understood that Afridi and Pakistan coach Waqar Younis werenít 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.

ìI kept expecting that the PCB chairman will ask me about what has been bugging me but he never cared to do that,î lamented Afridi. ìI cannot play cricket till the time the current PCB set up is in power. It hasnít given me the respect I deserved and for me respect is more important than anything else.î

Though Afridi has decided to quit, itís 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 allrounder.

ìAfridi has taken a decision because he got caught in a hopeless situation,î said the minister. ìIíll talk to the prime minister to sort out this issue and make Afridi take back his decision to retire because he is our national hero.î

 

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