Afridi pulls out of Ireland Tour
Shahid Afridi has pulled out of the two-match ODI series against Ireland due to the illness of his father.
According to Geo News report, Afridi had informed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that he would not be available for the two matches in Ireland on May 28 and 30.
"Afridi wants to spend time with his ailing father who is under treatment in the United States. It has nothing to do with him being removed from the One-day team captaincy," a source claimed.
The Chairman of the PCB, Ijaz Butt removed Afridi as captain earlier this month and replaced him with Misbah-ul-Haq who is presently leading the team in the Test series against the West Indies.
Unofficially, the reason for removing Afridi as captain but retaining him in the One-day squad as a player was because Butt is unhappy with the allrounder's habit of frequently addressing the media and discussing team issues.
The board had even issued a notice to Afridi for making statements on team matters after he returned home from the West Indies after leading the team to a 3-2 win over the West Indies in the five-match ODI series.
The source said Afridi, who is obviously disappointed with his sacking as captain, will now reach England late and might even miss a few matches for his county Hampshire in the T20 tournament in England.
The Chairman of the PCB, Ijaz Butt removed Afridi as captain earlier this month and replaced him with Misbah-ul-Haq who is presently leading the team in the Test series against the West Indies.
Unofficially, the reason for removing Afridi as captain but retaining him in the One-day squad as a player was because Butt is unhappy with the allrounder's habit of frequently addressing the media and discussing team issues.
The board had even issued a notice to Afridi for making statements on team matters after he returned home from the West Indies after leading the team to a 3-2 win over the West Indies in the five-match ODI series.
The source said Afridi, who is obviously disappointed with his sacking as captain, will now reach England late and might even miss a few matches for his county Hampshire in the T20 tournament in England.
