Cricbeat

Former ODI captain Shahid Afridi is likely to retire from One Day Internationals after being axed as captain earlier in the week.

Sources close to Afridi say that Afridi is really dejected on the way the PCB has dealt with him on his media leakages about his differences with head coach Waqar Younis.

Earlier on Thursday, PCB sacked Afridi as captain of the Pakistan’s One Day Internationals team and replaced him with 36-year old Misbah-ul-Haq.

The decision was made for Pakistan’s upcoming two-match ODI series against Ireland where veteran top-order batsman Younus Khan will also join the team. Younis who was a part of the Pakistan team for the test series against West Indies came back after the death of his brother.

Afridi is still part of the team as a regular player, but PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt had told media that his place in the team is not cemented and he will have to prove his abilities.

Following his remarks in the media, which wasn’t the first instance, the PCB had slapped Afridi with a notice demanding reasons for his media outburst. Following his media outburst, Afridi rapidly lost support in the cricket board for not abiding by the board rules and continuing to talk to media despite several warnings by Ijaz Butt, PCB chairman, and other top authorities.

Former players most prominently Wasim Akram blasted the PCB's decision to sack Afridi as the ODI captain.

"It was wrong to sack Afridi, who has recently brought glory to the country against all odds," Wasim Akram was quoted as saying by a sports website.

"Arguments between captains and coaches are not new in Pakistan cricket. Afridi was hailed as a national hero after the World Cup, and came back from the West Indies after winning the ODI series only to find out he has been sacked. What is the PCB up to," he said.