Afridi Slams Ijaz Butt and " Punjab Group"
Pakistan flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Khan Afridi, after weeks of growing tension, speculation and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt’s antics, has announced his retirement from international cricket. However, Afridi, a former ODI skipper, has said that it is a ‘conditional’ retirement and he is ready to withdraw his decision if and when a new board comes into power. “It is a protest the way I have been humiliated by the PCB,” an emotional and angry Afridi told a news channel from London on late Monday night. PCB chief Ijaz said on Tuesday that he had accepted Afridi’s decision to quit international cricket. “He is welcome if he does not want to play under the present (PCB) setup,” he said.
Afridi, who retired from Tests last year but continued to lead the team in limited-over cricket, was removed as one-day skipper earlier this month by the PCB. His replacement Misbahul Haq subsequently led the team to a 2-0 series win in Ireland. After returning from 3-2 one-day series victory in the West Indies, Afridi complained of interference in his work by coach Waqar Younis. He told reporters he felt that everyone should concentrate on his job and need not interfere in other’s work. That led to the board issuing him a show-cause notice to explain his remarks. Unhappy with his penchant for public straight-talking and his cosy relationship with the media; indeed it is understood a major concern of the board was their belief that Afridi was leaking news to the media. The show-cause and his sacking as ODI skipper prompted Afridi to pull out of the two ODIs against Ireland, speculation was that he was unhappy over his ouster, though he said he had decided to miss the series due to his father’s ill-health. It was around this time that stories began to appear that he may retire soon.
The hard-hitting batsman and leg-spin bowler said there were ‘disgraceful’ people in the board who could not tolerate outspoken people like him. Afridi, who is currently preparing for a Twenty20 stint with Hampshire, said he would not play under this board. “If a different board comes in, I will definitely return but I cannot play under this board. When you have been humiliated like this, by dishonourable people, what is the point in playing on? The way I’ve been treated... the future doesn’t look too good. I can’t play under a board that doesn’t respect its players. Because of this, under protest, this is a conditional retirement,” he said.
Afridi, a Pathan who has lived in Karachi all his life, also hit out at ‘a Punjab lobby that has been filling the chairman’s ears against me’, reviving an issue of regionalism that has been festering for some time now, and shows few signs of stopping. In recent weeks, Karachi officials have protested loudly against the PCB for not selecting players from the city. The big, bearded Afridi is known for hitting the fastest ever one-day century, off just 37 balls against Kenya in 1996, in his first international innings aged just 16. He also holds the record for most one-day sixes (289).
Afridi added that during his spell as one-day captain he was not consulted over squad selection and did not know until the last minute if he would be retained as skipper. “There was no respect shown to me although I picked up a ragged and scandal-hit team and built it up into a fighting unit. We reached the 50-over World Cup semi-finals and the reward they gave me was the sack,” he said. “They sacked me without telling me. No one bothered to even speak to me.” Afridi, who appeared in 27 Tests, 325 one-day games and 43 Twenty20s for Pakistan, said he would continue to play domestic cricket and in overseas Twenty20 leagues.
How long the current impasse lasts is difficult to predict. Afridi, until the World Cup, was Pakistan’s most effective and successful limited-overs bowler of the last three years. And his public popularity – he remains the most sought-after autograph in Pakistan as well as the only current player brands will invest in – ensures that the pressure on the PCB, and in particular the chairman, will be immense.
Afridi, who retired from Tests last year but continued to lead the team in limited-over cricket, was removed as one-day skipper earlier this month by the PCB. His replacement Misbahul Haq subsequently led the team to a 2-0 series win in Ireland. After returning from 3-2 one-day series victory in the West Indies, Afridi complained of interference in his work by coach Waqar Younis. He told reporters he felt that everyone should concentrate on his job and need not interfere in other’s work. That led to the board issuing him a show-cause notice to explain his remarks. Unhappy with his penchant for public straight-talking and his cosy relationship with the media; indeed it is understood a major concern of the board was their belief that Afridi was leaking news to the media. The show-cause and his sacking as ODI skipper prompted Afridi to pull out of the two ODIs against Ireland, speculation was that he was unhappy over his ouster, though he said he had decided to miss the series due to his father’s ill-health. It was around this time that stories began to appear that he may retire soon.
The hard-hitting batsman and leg-spin bowler said there were ‘disgraceful’ people in the board who could not tolerate outspoken people like him. Afridi, who is currently preparing for a Twenty20 stint with Hampshire, said he would not play under this board. “If a different board comes in, I will definitely return but I cannot play under this board. When you have been humiliated like this, by dishonourable people, what is the point in playing on? The way I’ve been treated... the future doesn’t look too good. I can’t play under a board that doesn’t respect its players. Because of this, under protest, this is a conditional retirement,” he said.
Afridi, a Pathan who has lived in Karachi all his life, also hit out at ‘a Punjab lobby that has been filling the chairman’s ears against me’, reviving an issue of regionalism that has been festering for some time now, and shows few signs of stopping. In recent weeks, Karachi officials have protested loudly against the PCB for not selecting players from the city. The big, bearded Afridi is known for hitting the fastest ever one-day century, off just 37 balls against Kenya in 1996, in his first international innings aged just 16. He also holds the record for most one-day sixes (289).
Afridi added that during his spell as one-day captain he was not consulted over squad selection and did not know until the last minute if he would be retained as skipper. “There was no respect shown to me although I picked up a ragged and scandal-hit team and built it up into a fighting unit. We reached the 50-over World Cup semi-finals and the reward they gave me was the sack,” he said. “They sacked me without telling me. No one bothered to even speak to me.” Afridi, who appeared in 27 Tests, 325 one-day games and 43 Twenty20s for Pakistan, said he would continue to play domestic cricket and in overseas Twenty20 leagues.
How long the current impasse lasts is difficult to predict. Afridi, until the World Cup, was Pakistan’s most effective and successful limited-overs bowler of the last three years. And his public popularity – he remains the most sought-after autograph in Pakistan as well as the only current player brands will invest in – ensures that the pressure on the PCB, and in particular the chairman, will be immense.
