PCB wants Shahid Afridi to consider retirement

Afridi has been an important figure in Pakistani cricket

Shahid Afridi, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest hitters in the modern game, has shown no signs of slowing down and wants to continue playing cricket.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked Afridi to retire gracefully, although the player can continue to play in foreign leagues and domestic cricket.

According to a PTI report, the PCB expects the player to make an official announcement in the upcoming T20 series against West Indies which is to be held in UAE later this month. Afridi who was captain stepped down from his role after the World T20 which was held in India last year.

The performance of the team was considered a failure by the Pakistan board, after the team failed to reach the semi-finals.

Also Read: Reports – Shahid Afridi to retire from international cricket after West Indies T20s

The PCB source was of the view that the Board is looking to plan for the future and with Afridi not getting any younger, he doesn’t figure in the long-term plan. The source said that the Board could reach a resolution so that Afridi could be offered the chance to be a part of the squad as a “16^th member” that takes on West Indies.

The fiasco over Afridi’s retirement has been in the news since last March, after Pakistan’s poor performance confirmed their exit from the ICC World Twenty 20. It was hinted by the Board at the time that Afridi would be retiring, but the player instead said that the decision lies with him.

He has since, though, been ignored by the selectors.

In the aftermath, a leaked report by the PCB made matters worse, with reports surfacing about the “unpreparedness” of Afridi, with reservations from coach Waqar Younis and manager Intikhab Alam about the player.

Afirdi later posted a video on social media in which he apologized for the team’s performance, before finally announcing that he was stepping down from his role as a T20 International captain.

Also Read: 'Totally embarassing for Pakistan to be just one place above Afghanistan', feels Wasim Akram

With no other T20 international matches scheduled till next April, the Pakistani board wishes to close the Afridi chapter in the upcoming series. Pakistan take on West Indies on the 23^rd, 24^th, and 27^th of September.

Afridi was last seen in action in the NatWest T20 Blast where he represented Hampshire.

The swashbuckling batsman is also a part of the Islamabad side in the National T20 Cup. Afridi retired from test cricket in 2011 before retiring from ODI after the 2015 World Cup.