Shahid Afridi to retire from Tests

[Gentle Typhoon]

Shahid Afridi to retire from Tests, Salman Butt, to take over the leadership

Cricinfo staff

July 16, 2010

Shahid Afridi made the decision that seemed inevitable from the day he took over as Test captain, by announcing his Test retirement immediately after leading his side to a 150-run loss against Australia at Lord's.

Afridi has been a reluctant Test player over the years and this Test was his first in four years. A poor personal performance, capped by a four-ball 2 on the last day - out slogging to deep midwicket - didn't help matters and the second Test against Australia at Headingley, starting on Wednesday, will now be his last. Afridi's participation at Headingley, however, will depend on whether he passes a fitness test for a side strain in the days leading up to the match.

Salman Butt, the vice-captain, is likely to take over the leadership for the England series though that is not set in stone until the PCB makes a final decision. Whoever does take over will be Pakistan's fifth Test captain since the start of 2009.

"With my temperament I can't play Test cricket," Afridi said. "It is better a youngster comes in my place, probably a genuine batsman or even a genuine bowler. I picked up a side injury during the Asia Cup and unless you are 100 percent fit you can't perform in Test cricket.

"I wasn't interested in playing Test cricket but the board asked me to go and take a look as they didn't have a choice. So I took up the responsibility. They asked me to take a chance and may be I would enjoy it. But I wasn't really enjoying Test cricket but I tried. I wasn't good enough. A captain should lead by example which I did not. And if I played the way I played in this match it is better to leave."

If Afridi's side injury rules him out of the second Test at Headingley his final shot in the five-day game will be the slog-sweep that picked out Mike Hussey and Afridi was honest enough to admit he just couldn't hold back. "You are right," he said. "I am coming back to Test cricket after four years and in the interim I'd played a lot of ODI and Twenty20 cricket so I came in with the same [attacking] temperament. I was in two minds. You can say I was not strong mentally."

Yawar Saeed, Pakistan's manager, confirmed Afridi's decision to Cricinfo, though he insisted he wouldn't call it a retirement. "Afridi had a side strain and felt that he shouldn't keep a specialist out of the side. Temperamentally he feels not comfortable with the format so Leeds will be his last Test," he said.

Saeed said that Butt is likely to take over, but that any decision would have to be made in consultation with the board. Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB, is in England currently. "Salman Butt was appointed vice-captain for the tour and he will take over unless the PCB meets and decides otherwise. But as per procedure, he will take over," Saeed said.

"Salman is the vice captain and he should ideally be the man," Afridi added. "The way he has shown the maturity he is good enough to carry forward the responsibility."

The development will bring into sharp focus the PCB's decision to appoint Afridi as Test captain in the first place. He had already retired from the format once before, in 2006, only to return, ironically, for the tour to England that summer. He played a couple of Tests before pulling himself out of the format again.

Since his appointment recently, his hesitancy towards the format has surfaced repeatedly. In an interview to The Wisden Cricketer before the series began, Afridi hinted he might not play Tests for long. "I'm confident I am fine fitness-wise," he said then. "But I came back to Tests because I am doing it for the team only. If I think I am fit to do it, I will continue playing Tests. Otherwise I will not burden the side."

In a more recent interview to Cricinfo, Afridi said, "If down the line I become aware that I am not a good captain, or not a successful one, and the team is unable to make any use of me as a captain, I will not chase it. If I don't have the ability then I will leave it on my own ... I did not ask anyone forcibly to give me the captaincy, nor will I forcibly captain the team. If I am good I will prove it through my performance. If I am not good I will say khuda hafeez [God be with you]."

Right decision, right time.

 

[welcome]

i think pak cricket player has lot of talent but the only problem is stability,most of player has no stable place in team,maximum time PCB put lot of unnecessary pressure on them.just like recently PCB was fined some senior player, these type of punishment down the moral of players....so i think there is 90% fault of PCB.....

 

[FreekiN]

OH NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Super Falcon]

well good decision but why he came back he was a waste in tests better bring younis khan for second test better player than afridi in tests afridi not even look like he is going to make 20 odd runs better he not play in second test if even we have to play with 10 players

 

[Spring Onion]

heheheheh when he was in the test cricket

 

[Super Falcon]

hope yousuf will come back with bang and score more centuries to give answers to hi opponent he is till as good as he was he is a copy of ponting and we need him best test cricketer ever produced by pakistan he is far better than inzi too

 

[Frankenstein]

well good decision but why he came back he was a waste in tests better bring younis khan for second test better player than afridi in tests afridi not even look like he is going to make 20 odd runs better he not play in second test if even we have to play with 10 players

He is a vital player for Pakistan in anu format of the game, if he suks in batting he is still good in balling

where the hell is Razaq??

 

[Usama86]

Honestly speaking guys, right after the game ended i thought to myself that Pakistan is headed to 6 straight test defeats in 2 months and then Afridi will retire leaving the team with no captain in sight. He has done it 6 times faster then i thought, no wonder he plays so quick. He has done the right thing, actually its the PCB again and i feel sick with the way things have been handled by them. PCB insured that Younis & Yousuf be driven out of the team and then asked Afridi to play tests as they want 1 captain for all formats. Ijaz Butt is destroying pakistan cricket, they dont know who to play in which format.

 

[Goodperson]

But is this the final retirement decision ? Afridi to retire from tests for third time

 

[Agni 5]

But is this the final retirement decision ? Afridi to retire from tests for third time

wow.............. third time retirement.

 

[SSGPA1]

Honestly speaking guys, right after the game ended i thought to myself that Pakistan is headed to 6 straight test defeats in 2 months and then Afridi will retire leaving the team with no captain in sight. He has done it 6 times faster then i thought, no wonder he plays so quick. He has done the right thing, actually its the PCB again and i feel sick with the way things have been handled by them. PCB insured that Younis & Yousuf be driven out of the team and then asked Afridi to play tests as they want 1 captain for all formats. Ijaz Butt is destroying pakistan cricket, they dont know who to play in which format.

Players have too much power therefore Younus wanted to curb that power but he got no support from the PCB.

Kamran Akmal is the real problem and these issues will continue until he is thrown out of the team.

 

[Hyde]

Players have too much power therefore Younus wanted to curb that power but he got no support from the PCB.

Kamran Akmal is the real problem and these issues will continue until he is thrown out of the team.

Ijaz Butt is the problem
Remove him before anybody else

 

[Super Falcon]

yes ijaz butt is the big probleum if younis khan is available why not he has been sended wait for next defeat you see waqar resigning soon which will be the big loose to the team somehow chairman have ruined the cricket in pakistan last 2 chairmans just nuts.

 

[SSGPA1]

'Afridi has harmed Pakistan cricket and should be penalised'
Former players and columnists on the latest saga to unfold in Pakistan cricket


"If he was not prepared for Test cricket then he should have thought about this before accepting the captaincy. His decision has come at a wrong time for Pakistan cricket and will complicate issues in the team."
Former Pakistan keeper Moin Khan predicts trouble ahead


"It makes no sense that Afridi should decide now he is not ready to play Test matches. He is himself totally confused as to what he wants do. To make him the Test captain was a wrong decision."
Former captain Zaheer Abbas says Afridi shouldn't have been captain in the first place


"Test cricket will be none the poorer for his absence. His brainless batting besmirched this match; his astonishing lack of leadership mocked some of his team-mates' best efforts."
The Telegraph's Steve James has little sympathy for Afridi


"I ask the board, is this not a violation of the code of conduct to announce such a big decision without taking team management into confidence?"
Javed Miandad wants Afridi to be punished for giving up the captaincy

"I think his act is unpardonable. Afridi has harmed Pakistan cricket and he should be penalised for that. They are several better ways if you want to announce your retirement from Tests. Afridi chose the worst way."
Ramiz Raja is of the same opinion


"We all know he took the captaincy unwillingly, but when he took the responsibility he should have fulfilled it. His sudden decision will also affect younger players."
Former Pakistan spinner Iqbal Qasim thinks Afridi should have stuck it out

"Clearly he made the decision himself; he could not be pushed, having been beseeched so recently by his board to return to Test cricket."
Vic Marks writes in the Observer that there wasn't any pressure on Afridi to quit

"Afridi was a misfit in Test team so it put added pressure on him."
Former Pakistan spinner and selector Abdul Qadir thinks Afridi shouldn't have been in the side

"I don't think there was ever any place in the Test squad for Afridi, and in the first place he should not have been considered for the Tests"
Asif Iqbal, the former Pakistan captain, questions the board's selection methods

"Afridi was lamentable, an indisciplined disaster, whose sole virtue, bless him, was to recognise that he did not have the temperament for Test cricket."
In the Independent on Sunday, Stephen Brenkley compliments Afridi's honesty


"The national team is not the place for experimentations. Afridi has let Pakistan cricket down."
Aamer Sohail is disappointed

What They Said About: Shahid Afridi's retirement from Tests | The Short Stuff | Cricinfo Magazine | Cricinfo.com

 

[fawwaxs]

LONDON: Shahid Afridi did not pull any punches as he announced his decision to quit Test cricket after captaining Pakistan to a crushing 150-run defeat in their series opener with Australia here at Lord’s.

DAWN.COM | Cricket | Blunt Afridi says he is not good enough for Tests