'I can only select player, cannot give farewell, says Inzamam on Afridi

In what may be seen as a setback for former Pakistan T20 skipper Shahid Afridi's demand of a rousing send off, chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has insisted that his domain is to select a player rather than giving a farewell.

Talking to reporters during a press conference at the National Stadium, Karachi after announcing the 14-member squad for the day-night Test against the West Indies, which starts from October 13, Haq said every person, who has played 18-20 years for the country, was mature enough to decide till when he has to continue.

"I can only select a player and cannot give him a farewell," the Dawn quoted him as saying.

 

The 46-year-old, however, said Afridi is in contact with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on the issue and the board also believes that there should be a proper exit for a person who has served Pakistan this long.

It should be noted that Haq, the former Pakistan Test captain, was honoured with an enclosure being named after him at the Qaddafi Stadium Lahore during his last Test match.

Afridi had made headlines last month with his demand for a farewell match during the three-match T20 series against the West Indies which Pakistan went on to clean sweep.

"Farewell match is my right", Afridi had insisted while urging the PCB to provide him with an opportunity to bid adieu to international arena in a befitting manner.

The flamboyant all-rounder had stepped down from the captaincy after the World T20 debacle in India, where Pakistan could only manage to win just three out of eight matches.

He, however, didn't announce his retirement from the game's shortest format.

Afridi, who called curtains to his ODI career, last year after the 2015 50-over World Cup, revealed he had a discussion with PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan about the proposed farewell match.

Meanwhile, PCB executive committee chairman Najam Sethi hinted at the proposed good-bye match for Afridi, saying the board wanted to award the former skipper an opportunity.

Afridi, who has made 98 T20I appearances, is the leading wicket taker in the shortest format of the game with 97 scalps and has scored 1405 runs at an average of 18.