Shahid Afridi Hints At Retirement After World T20

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi tonight indicated that he might retire from international cricket this week.
Afridi, who is leading Pakistan in the ongoing ICC World Twenty20, said on Tuesday night (March 22) that he will end his career after the last league game against Australia on Friday (March 25) if the team fails to qualify for the semi-finals.
Pakistan lost by 22 runs to New Zealand at the PCA Stadium. With this win, the Kiwis notched up their third straight success and entered the semi-finals. This was 2nd successive loss for Pakistan and their chances of making the knockout stage are slim. They started off with a win over Bangladesh but were beaten by India at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Saturday (March 19). “That (the match against Australia) could be the last game of my career,” Afridi said after the match in Mohali. He took 2 wickets for 40 runs in his 4 overs against New Zealand and in the run chase of 181, contributed 19 off 11 (2×4, 1×6). The 36-year-old Afridi made his international cricket debut way back in 1996 against Kenya in a ODI in Nairobi. So far he has played 27 Tests, 398 ODIs and 96 T20Is. On March 21, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had said it would replace Afridi as captain after the World T20 tournament. “He is captain till the World Cup under this understanding and he has said he will retire after the event. Even if he changes his mind and wants to carry on we will have to see whether he can be picked as a player or not,” PCB Chairman Shaharyar KhanKhan said.(Agencies)