AFRIDI ANNOUNCED RETIREMENT

Karachi, May 31 (IANS): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday revoked the No Objection Certificate (NOC) granted to Shahid Afridi that will prevent the retired cricketer to play in county cricket and other Twenty20 leagues.

A day after Afridi announced his retirement and blamed PCB's ill-treatment towards him as the reason for his decision, the board also issued him a show-cause notice.

The Board's action means that Afridi will be disallowed from playing for Hampshire in a Twenty20 tournament. Afridi is already in England to begin his stint for Hampshire. He will also have to stay away from the inaugural edition of the Sri Lankan Premier League to be held later this month.

In a statement, released on Tuesday, the PCB accused Afridi of violating the board's code of conduct.

"PCB has initiated action against Shahid Afridi in response to the following breaches he has committed under the Central Contract signed with PCB," said the statement.

"By announcing his retirement in the manner that he did Shahid Afridi is in breach of Clause 2.1.4 of the Central Contract dealing with Covenants of the Cricketer," it said.

"In passing disparaging remarks about the board and its officials, Shahid Afridi is in breach of Clause 4.4 dealing with Media obligations."

The PCB has given Afridi seven days to respond to its show-cause notice.

"His (Afridi's) Central Contract has been suspended with immediate effect. Consequently, all NOCs granted to him have been revoked."

"All payments on account of Central Contract have been suspended," the statement concluded.

AFRIDI DECLARED:

Karachi, May 30 (AFP): Pakistan's Shahid Afridi told AFP on Monday he was retiring from all international cricket, saying he was dejected after being replaced as one-day captain following a fiery clash with coach Waqar Younis.

The 31-year-old developed differences with Waqar during the team's 3-2 win against theWest Indies earlier this month and his public criticism of the coach ultimately led to him losing the captaincy.

"Yes, I am now retired from all international cricket," Afridi said by telephone from London. "I am dejected and hurt and whatever I said about the coach it was in the best interest of the team."

Afridi, who took over as Test and one-day captain last year, abruptly retired from the longer version of the game after a heavy defeat against Australia at Lord's in July 2010.

He then led Pakistan to two one-day series defeats against England and South Africa before winning a 50-over series in New Zealand and guiding the team to the semi-finals of World Cup 2011 where they lost to eventual champions India.

Afridi lashed out at Waqar on his return from the West Indies.

"Everyone should do his job and should be accountable for his work," said Afridi, reportedly irked at Waqar's interference in team selection.

When asked about his reported differences with the coach, Afridi replied: "The differences are not at a stage where they cannot be resolved."

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took heed of the public criticism and served a show cause notice to Afridi before announcing that Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq would lead the team in two one-day matches against Ireland.

Pakistan won the series 2-0 under Misbah on Monday.

Afridi said he was roughly treated by the PCB.

"I play for my country and for my people," he said. "I led the team to the semi-final of the World Cup but the reward was such that I was not sure about my captaincy."

Afridi said his decision to retire was final, as he would not play under the current PCB, headed by chairman Ijaz Butt, but hinted at a comeback if there was a change in leadership.

"This current board treats players roughly and I will not play under this set-up. But if this set-up is changed only then will I consider coming back because I have always played for my people and will play for them."

Afridi said he had battled against the game's match-fixing menace and had united a disjointed Pakistan team.

"When I retired from Test cricket and sensed spot-fixing in the team, I fought against it and after the fixing episode united the team which was broken and divided," said Afridi, referring to last year's fixing scandal in England.

That controversy, related to last year's Lord's Test against England, ended in lengthy bans on former Test captain Salman Butt and pacemen Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer.

Afridi, who still holds the record for the fastest one-day hundred, scored off 37-balls against Sri Lanka at Nairobi in 1997, was the joint leading wicket-taker with 21 in the 2011 World Cup with India's Zaheer Khan.

The burly all-rounder scored 6,695 in 325 one-dayers and took 315 wickets as a leg-spinner. He also has a tally of 1,716 runs and 48 wickets in 27 Tests.

Afridi finished as player of the tournament in the first two editions of the World Twenty20, in 2007 and 2009, helpingPakistan to the title in the latter tournament in England.

"I served the country to the best of my ability but did not deserve this treatment. I wanted to leave cricket on a happy note, but that did not come about," he said.