Shahid Afridi's farewell series shelved; not included in Pakistan squad for West Indies series

The 36-year-old had hinted at a possible agreement with the PCB which could see him make a graceful exit.

New Delhi: One of Pakistan's beloved cricketers, Shahid Afridi will have to wait for his retirement if he wants a gracefull exit, like the ones witnessed in Indian cricket.

Afridi, 36, had hinted at a possible agreement with the Pakistan Cricket Board which could see him make a graceful exit from all international cricket.

And it was speculated that the upcoming Twenty20 International series against West Indies in the United Arab Emirates will be his last outing.

But the celebrated all-rounder and former former captain found himself left out of the squad for the three matches, and with that all the speculations of a farewell series ended, at least for now.

Days after team announcement, the Urdu newspaper Jang carried a report claiming that Afridi would be selected as the 16th player West Indies series, as part of a planned farewell.

In between, ESPNcricinfo reported that a move for a planned farewell had come from selection committee head, Inzamam-ul-Haq, but it fell through in the absence of the board chairman Shaharyar Khan, who is recovering from surgery, and executive committee head Najam Sethi, who is on vacation in England.

On Thursday, Afridi told the media at Karachi that there was no pressure from him on the Board for any agreement nor any pressure on him from the PCB but noted that players need to retire gracefully.

"I have put no pressure on the Board nor they on me but whatever happens it will be good and set new precedents," he said.

He said that he had discussed his future with chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq who had given him a plan to think about.

"I have always noted that in Pakistan there is no tradition of players retiring gracefully, even the big names. Every player wants to go out on a high and a I am no different," he said.

(With PTI inputs)