“I have lost desire to play Tests”: Afridi

LAHORE - In what may come as huge disappointment to his fans and cricket lovers, Pakistan One-day International (ODI) and Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi has declared that he has no intentions of returning to Test cricket, as he has lost the desire for playing in the longer format of the game.

“I have no real desire to play Test cricket, and the reason I lost this desire is because I was not selected consistently for Test matches,” the Daily Times quoted Afridi, as saying.

He revealed that he had informed Test skipper Salman Butt and the team’s coach- Waqar Younis- before going public with his decision after the first Test against England.

The flamboyant all-rounder also made it clear that he, along with other senior players including Muhammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Akhtar, had discussed the future of Pakistan cricket, and were keen to put the national team on the right track in the next two or three years before hanging up their boots.

“We want to retire after making a strong team and leaving behind a legacy of some good players,” he said.

Afridi advised wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, whose name has cropped up twice in match-fixing investigations this year, to take a break from Test cricket, for relieving himself from the pressure and being fresh before the 2011 World Cup. He also named Zulqarnain Haider and Sarfaraz Ahmed as good wicket-keeping substitutes for Tests and limited-overs cricket in future.

Talking about the controversial England tour which concluded recently, Afridi praised former manager Yawar Saeed and associate manager Shafqat Rana for managing the Pakistan cricket team ‘in a very good manner’ during the ill-fated series.

“Yawar and Shafqat managed the team efficiently during the England tour. Their presence was source of strength for the team. Had the duo not been there, there would have been more trouble in handling the tough situations in England,” Afridi said. (ANI)