Shahid Afridi made his ODI debut back in 1996. ©
Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's key all-rounder, has announced that he will retire from ODI cricket after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Known for his ability to play blistering knocks and snare wickets with his handy leg-spinners, he has been an integral part of the set-up for many years. He has taken 391 wickets at an average of 33.89. He has also aggregated 7,870 runs at a strike rate of 116.29 for his country.
His fitness has been a matter of some concern in recent times. In September, Afridi, along with Umar Akmal, Raza Hasan and Abdur Rehman were found to be lacking in match fitness and fined 25% of their monthly retainer.
Afridi, made his ODI debut back in 1996 against Kenya in Nairobi. In only his second game against Sri Lanka, he notched up the quickest hundred in the shorter format of the game at that time. He was also the youngest player to score a ton in ODIs.
He captained the Pakistan side in the 2011 World Cup when they lost to India in the semi-final in Mohali. Afridi was subsequently replaced by Misbah ul Haq as skipper but he stepped in as the captain recently when Misbah was injured.
Afridi, who retired from Tests in 2010, said: "I will retire from ODI format after 2015 World Cup, but will continue to play T20s. I realise that this is the best time for me to announce retirement, I've already told the PCB about my decision. I want to leave cricket on a high."
He also expressed his desire to join politics after retirement but added that people around him were advising against it.
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