Flamboyant Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has finally been sacked by the PCB after a string of dismal outings over the course of the year gone by. Afridi, along with controversial players Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal was not named in the list of the probable for the England tour later this year.
Inzamam Ul Haq, who was recently appointed the chief selector of Pakistan, said that Afridi was axed as he was potentially blocking the place of a young player who could well be groomed. While clarifying about the axing of Shehzad and Akmal, Haq said that both the batsmen were dropped not because of their performances, but due to their poor attitude and discipline.
“Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal have not been included in the training camp taking into view their past disciplinary record,” Inzamam told a media conference in Lahore.”Neither is their discipline good nor their recent performances consistent and impressive,” he said.
Afridi took to Twitter, in order to back PCB’s move to sack him, and said that youngsters should instead be groomed.
Appreciate the approach by selection committee. Happy that youngsters are getting a chance1/2
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) 2 May 2016
Prior to the England tour, the PCB has organized a boot camp, so that the players can adjust and prepare for the long and grueling tour.
Squad named for boot camp: Mohammad Hafeez, Sami Aslam, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Sharjeel Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Shan Masood, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Haris Sohail, Babar Azam, Khalid Latif, Fawad Alam, Akbar-ur-Rehman, Asif Zakir, Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Mohammad Amir, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Hasan Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Adnan Akmal, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Mohammad Asgher, Imad Wasim, Bilal Asif, Zohaib Khan