Karachi: Flamboyant Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has said he is ready to retire from international cricket the day he feels he is a burden on the team.
Afridi, 35, announced retirement from one-day internationals after the World Cup while he had quit Test cricket in 2010. He recently announced that he was only going to continue playing T20 cricket and focus on building a strong squad for next year's World T20 Cup in India.
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"The fact is that the senior players are letting down the team. We can't expect to win much with our current poor form. I want to lead from the front, and if I feel that I'm going to be a burden, then I will quit the format well before next year's ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in India," said Afridi.
"Pakistan cricket is going through a tough phase. If the seniors don't contribute then the problems would only increase. We need to experiment with youngsters and form a potent combination before the World Twenty20, but for that we need the support of the established players," he added.
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Pakistan suffered a 0-3 drubbing at the hands of Bangladesh in three-ODI series before losing the lone T20 International game against the same opponents. Out of four T20 games since October, Afridi-led Pakistan have lost three.
Afridi, who went wicket-less in the lone game in Bangladesh and also took just three wickets in seven games of the ODI World Cup, felt the team desperately needs a hard-hitting all-rounder. "We need a big-hitting all-rounder. We lack stroke players in the team who can play big shots at any given time. We need to sort this issue," Afridi said.
