Former Twenty20 International (T20) captain Shahid Afridi hinted at his differences with the Peshawar Zalmi owner, Javed Afridi.
In an interview with Cricket Australia, the 36-year-old clarified he is not “confined to Peshawar Zalmi”.
“I am a professional cricketer and whichever franchise needs me I am available for it. It is not that I am confined to Peshawar Zalmi only.”
“No doubt that my current team is Zalmi but before moving forward I need to sort out some things with Javed Afridi.”
Nonetheless, the mighty slogger, who has hit 351 One-Day International (ODI) sixes, praised the Zalmi owner for his efforts to highlight cricket talent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“The purpose of having franchises was not to just play PSL but to improve the cricket infrastructure in Pakistan and I give credit to Zalmi for organising tournaments and camps in Peshawar and other places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. But there are some things that need to be sorted, (there is) no big issue otherwise,” said Afridi who donned Zalmi colours earlier this year.
Afridi, who joined Hampshire earlier this summer for the domestic T20 tournament, has accepted the county’s offer to play the 50-over cricket.
He took on the social media to announce his decision.
Afridi relinquished the T20 captaincy after Pakistan’s horrific ICC World T20 campaign that saw the national side exit prematurely from the global tournament.
“I still feel that I can play for the next couple of years whether it is for Pakistan or PSL (Pakistan Super League), Big Bash or England (domestic) T20s.”
Afridi reiterated his availability for Pakistan, “I’ll be available for the national team whenever it needs me.”
“In fact before coming, I spoke with the chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq and told him that it is good to have youngsters in the team but in case he needs me I will be available. I am very focused on cricket and want to continue it. I am looking after myself very well and working hard on my fitness.”