PCB issues show cause notice to Afridi

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued a show cause notice to flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi for speaking to the media after returning from Dhaka recently after taking part in the World T20 tournament.

The notice was issued after some members of the national team relayed their reservations to the board over the comments made by the outspoken Afridi, according to sources in the board.

Afridi told the media at the airport that Pakistan team had not shown an aggressive mindset in the match against the West Indies which led to their ouster from the tournament before the semi-finals. He also said that if offered the captaincy he was ready to take up the challenge for the sake of the nation and team.

One of the sources said that Afridi had been asked to explain why he spoke to the media when only the captain and team officials were told to do so after the return.

Afridi, in his response, has apparently said he had never run after the captaincy and had only responded to a question put forward by a media person. He also made it clear that he had always spoken to the media after returning from a big tournament and it was nothing new for him. He also insisted that he did not intend to harm or disrespect anyone in the team or board.

Ironically, even the cricket consultant of the team Zaheer Abbas and head coach Moin Khan had minced no words while talking about the performance of the team in the World T20 tournament and said some players would have to go in the new set-up of the team.

Afridi is being tipped to take over as the captain of the T20 side after Muhammad Hafeez stepped down from the post after returning home.