Amir Sohail opines against giving Shahid Afridi a farewell

Former Pakistan opener Amir Sohail has made a few enemies down the years on the cricket field courtesy of his uncontrolled aggression. Sohail has gone on to make yet another enemy in the form of Shahid Afridi when he stated that Afridi’s much-anticipated farewell is something that is not required at the moment.

Amir Sohail went on to add that the 36-year old Afridi was a player who had announced his retirement on a few occasions meaning that the farewell was something that would not make much sense. Sohail also added that the testimonial would work only in front of home crowds, something that the Pakistani cricketers have had a dearth of since their cricketing isolation since 2009.

“Now let’s be honest here and recognize the fact that Afridi has served Pakistan well in the past. However, let us also remember that Afridi has announced his intention to retire on a number of occasions which doesn’t help his case. On top of that, when a player wants to play a final game, he would like to play that match in front of home crowds. Since there is no international cricket being played in Pakistan at the moment, how exactly will he have a farewell game in front of a home crowd?”

Sohail also added that Afridi had put the PCB in somewhat of a difficult position. Najam Sethi, a top person within the PCB went on to state that he would acquiesce and give Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi a farewell.

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“There is no doubt that Shahid Afridi feels strongly about being awarded a special farewell but surely the better way would have been to go in private to the PCB instead of playing this out in front of the media and thereby putting himself and the PCB in a very difficult position. That way if the PCB had declined his request, he could have shrugged his shoulders and moved on which is not an option for him now,” he said.

“There is absolutely no sense in an international retirement game for Afridi and one hopes that better sense prevails on all sides,” he added. As regards the possible recall of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, Sohail this is an issue that would have to be in the hands of chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq and his colleagues. “Confusion will reign supreme for all concerned if the selectors don’t make this clear to Ajmal,” he warned.

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