Earlier, Afridi, in an unusual move, deviated from his commitment he made to PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan about a year before the 2016 World T20 that he would retire from T20 Internationals after the mega event.
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Hafeez, who had to return home from the England tour after the first one-day worldwide due to the injury, has been advised a further three weeks rest to complete his rehabilitation process.
The source added that since Pakistan after the T20 series against the West Indies will not be playing another T20 worldwide until next April, it wants to provide Afridi a chance of calling it quits in an honourable manner. Pakistan are building a new T20 team for the next World Twenty20 and Afridi doesn’t fit.
Afridi will not only be included in the squad against West Indies but will also play three matches so he can retire honourably, channel reported while quoting PCB sources. However, after being overlooked for the lone T20 against England recently, it seems the Pakistani selectors wants the 36-year-old to step aside and give an opportunity for younger players.
“The PCB also wants to organize a grand farewell for him in Dubai during the T20 series for which the selectors have already announced a 15-member squad”, he added.
The star all-rounder resigned from the captaincy after the Asia Cup T20 and World T20 tournaments, where the Men in Green managed to win just three out of eight matches.
He is expected to continue playing in domestic leagues around the world. He has played 27 Test matches, 398 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 98 T20 Internationals (T20I) in a career spanning 20 years.
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Akmal was dropped from the recent limited-overs series against England on disciplinary grounds but forced his way back into the national team after scoring 304 runs in five matches during the ongoing National T20 Cup with a strike rate of 202.66. He has also been ignored by the selectors. With Pakistan’s next T20 assignment after the West Indies series scheduled only for April 2017, it was reported that Afridi wanted to make way for the youngsters with the future of Pakistan cricket in mind.
