Ex-Pak greats blasts Afridi for hasty retirement

ISLAMABAD - Former Pakistan cricketers have criticised Shahid Afridi for leaving the team in the lurch by announcing his retirement in middle of an important foreign tour.

Pakistan’s World Cup winning captain Imran Khan lashed out at Afridi, saying his abrupt retirement has only enhanced problems for Pakistan cricket.

“I think Afridi has further compounded the problems in Pakistan cricket and destabilised the team with his decision. He should have accepted the captaincy as a challenge and played Test cricket,” Imran said.

Another Test captain Aamir Sohail said Afridi’statement that he has not got the temperament for Test cricket is unjustified.

“All he is saying is that he is not ready for Test cricket and it does not match his temperament. But he should have known about this before accepting the captaincy. He has let everyone down and he is now trying to cover up his blunder,” The Daily Times quoted Sohail, as saying.

He said that though Salman Butt was a good choice as Afridi’s replacement, there are fears that his international career might suffer if he fails as a captain in the rest of the English tour.

“He is a good choice, but I am just hoping that pressures of captaincy don’t affect his batting form. The board and team management should now provide him full backing and be patient with him,” Sohail said.

“I don’t want to see a situation where if he struggles and the team does not do well under his captaincy he is also changed or dropped like others before him. It would be most unfortunate for Pakistan cricket,” the former Test opener added.

Inzamamul Haq, one of Pakistan’s most successful captains, blasted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for appointing Afridi as Test skipper.

“Afridi’s appointment as Test captain was a wrong decision in the first place. Forcing him to take the job has backfired and has damaged Pakistan cricket,” Inzamam said.

He urged that PCB to recall experienced batsmen like Mohammed Yousuf and Younis Khan to boost the batting line up without wasting any more time.

“This Pakistan side is short on experience, so Yousuf and Younus should immediately be recalled so that there is more experience which is always needed on a tough tour of England,” Inzamam said. (ANI)