Shahid Afridi bids goodbye to international cricket
© Shahid Afridi Facebook
36-year old Shahid Afridi has announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket after a PSL match between Peshawar Zulmi and Karachi Kings. The Pakistani all-rounder had already retired from Test cricket (in 2010) and the ODIs (in 2015) but was still leading his nation in the T20Is.
Afridi made the announcement after scoring a brilliant 54, in 28 balls, for his PSL side Peshawar Zalmi on Sunday. "I have said goodbye to international cricket. I am playing for my fans and will continue to play this league for another two years but it's goodbye from international cricket.
"Now my foundation is important for me. I have played with seriousness and in a professional way for my country," Afridi told ESPNcricinfo in Sharjah.
Afridi, who became a bowling all-rounder after making his mark as an opener at the start of his career, made his last appearance for Pakistan in March 2016 when his side lost to Australia to crash out of the World T20 in the group stages. Since making his debut against Kenya in an ODI in 1996, Afridi has appeared in 27 Tests, 398 ODIs, and 98 T20Is. He has scored 17,703 runs and picked up 540 wickets across all the formats for his nation.
After announcing himself to the world with his 37-ball century against Sri Lanka, Afridi failed to live up to the hype for the rest of his career. He threw his wicket away in most of the games due to rash shots and, eventually, concentrated more on his bowling towards the later parts of his career.
