All-rounder Shahid Afridi will get his final match for Pakistan. He announced his retirement a few days ago. PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, both gave approval for Afridi to be picked in the T20 squad for the coming series against the West Indies.
Inzamam-ul-Haq believes that Shahid Afridi deserves to be given a farewell match after serving the country for almost twenty years. “In my opinion, Shahid deserves to be given a farewell match so that he can announce his retirement properly and retire in a befitting manner,” the former captain said.
Afridi, for the time being, has apparently taken up a new role of an expert for the state-owned television sports channel for the limited over series against the West Indies which begins on Friday.
The chief selector also felt that there were a lot of things to be put right in Pakistan cricket and this could not happen in three months time. “There is a lot to be done in Pakistan cricket and things can’t change in a few months time. It will take time and patience to put our cricket on the right path but it will happen,” he said.
Inzamam, who played in 120 Tests, said that he was optimistic about the future as the quality of talent being uncovered in domestic cricket was encouraging. He admitted that lot of hard work was required to improve Pakistan’s standing in one-day and T20 internationals where the national team is languishing at number nine and eight positions.
The series against the West Indies would be a tough one for Pakistan since they had some good players and were also the World T20 Champions. “There is no question of taking the West Indies team lightly as they have always posed a challenge for us and I foresee a close series although we have a clear edge in the Test match format and we are the number one team,” Inzamam said.