Cricket is not Cricket without Shahid Afridi

After weeks of growing tension and speculation Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's recently axed one-day captain, has announced his retirement from the international game. It is, however, a "conditional" retirement in protest against the way he has been "humiliated" by the PCB, a temporary self-imposed exile more than a permanent retirement. Afridi said he was ready to reverse his decision if and when a new board came into power. "There is nothing bigger than a man's respect, and the way the board has treated me, there is a limit to everything," an emotional, angry Afridi told Geo TV from London, where he is currently preparing for a T20 stint with Hampshire. "I will not play under this board. If a different board comes in, I will definitely return but I cannot play under this board. When you have been humiliated like this, by dishonourable people, what is the point in playing on? "The way I've been treated ... the future doesn't look too ...

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has turned down an offer to tour Pakistan because of security concerns, the Sri Lankan cricket board told Reuters on Tuesday. “We have refused to tour Pakistan,” a Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) spokesman said by telephone. “We are concerned about the security and that’s why we said no to them.” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had been hopeful of coaxing the Sri Lankans into touring the country but Sunday’s terrorist attack on a naval air force base near Karachi’s National Stadium dealt a severe blow to the prospects. Pakistan has not hosted international cricket since the Sri Lankan team visited the country in 2009 when gunmen attacked their team bus in Lahore, killing seven people. The PCB recently made another attempt to convince the Sri Lankans to tour Pakistan. “Yes we have sent them a fresh invite to play the series of three tests, five one-day internationals and one T20 match in Pakistan in October-November,” PCB official Nadem Sarwar told Reuters on Saturday. ...

Pakistani off spin bowler, Saeed Ajmal, has been declared as the ‘Cricket World Player of the week’. He was included in the elite list of the players due to his superb all round performance in the ongoing second Test match being played at Saint Kitts. Pakistan was in deep trouble in their first innings and had lost nine wickets for 194 runs when he walked to the crease holding his bat with a strong will. He joined fellow tail-ender, Tanvir Ahmed, who was determined for a better show at the other end. He provided excellent support to his senior partner and continued milking runs from the frustrated Caribbean attack. The pair took the score to dignified position and added 78 valuable runs for the tenth wicket. Ajmal helped Tanvir achieve his first Test fifty. As a result, Pakistan were able to score 272 runs and Ajmal remained unbeaten on 23 runs off 79 balls, aided with one six and a four. West Indies were struggling at one time in their first innings after they lost three wickets for ...

Boom Boom’ Afridi has finally decided to call it a day as far as One Day International Cricket is concerned. He was disheartened by the decision of the Pakistan Cricket Board, when he was removed from ODI Captaincy last week. Pakistan will play two ODI matches against Ireland later this month and the Captaincy was handed over toMisbah-Ul-Haq. Misbah is also leading the Pakistan side in the ongoing two-match Test series in West Indies. According to sources, Afridi was disappointed with the decision of the PCB, which came even after he led the team from the front in the past few months. Pakistan was able to win the series against New Zealand 3-2, gave a real fight in the World Cup, registering themselves in the best four teams of the tournament and finally bagged a series win by 3-2, over the West Indies. Afridi was the leading wicket taker in the World Cup by grabbing 21 wickets at an excellent average of 12.85 and best figures of 5/16. Earlier, quite a few ex-cricketers, including Sa...

KARACHI: Sri Lanka, victims of an attack by militants in Lahore two years ago, have been invited to tour Pakistan for a series of games, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday. Yes we have sent them a fresh invite to play the series of three tests, five one-day internationals and one T20 match in Pakistan in October-November,” PCB official Nadem Sarwar told Reuters. “We are waiting for their response but we have given them full security assurances.” Six Pakistani policemen and a driver were killed, and five visiting players wounded, when gunmen ambushed the Sri Lankan team’s buses in March 2009. Since then, no foreign team has visited Pakistan and the country lost its share of the World Cup matches this year. A judicial inquiry blamed senior police officials for neglecting their duties and failing to provide security for the Sri Lankan team.

NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket board on Wednesday slapped a $50,000 fine on soon-to-retire bowling legend Shane Warne over a bust-up between the Australian and an official during this season’s IPL. The punishment casts a cloud over Warne’s last game of professional cricket on Friday when his Rajasthan Royals team take on the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. The leg-spin maestro, captain of the Rajasthan team, was involved in an angry exchange with Sanjay Dixit, secretary of the Rajasthan state cricket association, following his team’s defeat at home last week. Warne was furious about his team being asked to play on a different wicket than one used in previous games, but he later apologised for “any distress” his action may have caused. After a complaint by the Rajasthan cricket association, Warne and Dixit were summoned for a hearing before a disciplinary commission comprising IPL chairman Chirayu Amin and former player Ravi Shastri. “The commission has decided to impose a f...