Afridi to quit ODIs after 2015 W Cup

In a bid to concentrate on his T20 career, Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi on Sunday announced that he will retire from one-day internationals after the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“I always wanted to retire from ODIs with self-respect, grace and on a high and I think this is the best time to now focus only on T20 matches,” Afridi said in a press conference here. “I am just happy that I have had the courage to take this decision at the right time. Because in the past I have seen bigger players than me not being able to decide when it was the right time for them to go,” he said.

The former Pakistan captain said he would, after the 50-over showpiece event, give full time to his role as the captain of the national T20 side leading up to the World Cup in 2016.

“The T20 World Cup is in India and it is my desire our team wins the title there. I will be playing a lot of T20 cricket after the World Cup and try to build up a strong team for the 2016 event,” he said.

Afridi said he had discussed his decision with the Pakistan team management but had not informed the cricket board as yet.

“I am the first Pakistan player to be able to announce his retirement properly and this is good enough for me because I have already achieved a lot in ODIs,” he said.

Afridi, 34, has played 389 one-day internationals, 27 Tests and 77 T20 matches for Pakistan.

He held the ODI record for the fastest century made in 1996/97 against Kenya until New Zealand’s Corey Anderson bettered it this year. Afridi who is close to completing 400 wickets and 8000 runs in ODIs having taken 391 wickets and scored 7870 runs so far said he wanted to achieve this landmark in the World Cup.