After Pakistan's limited overs captain Shahid Afridi failed to board the flight along with the other members of the national team for the tour of the West Indies today morning, two different versions of official explanation were given.
Published: Apr 14, 2011, 03:45 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 14, 2011, 03:45 PM (IST)
Shahid Afridi stretches after sprint training during a Pakistan nets session at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium on March 28, 2011 in Mohali, India. India will play Pakistan in the ICC World Cup Semi-Final on Wednesday.
Karachi: Apr 14, 2011
After Pakistan’s limited overs captain Shahid Afridi failed to board the flight along with the other members of the national team for the tour of the West Indies today morning, two different versions of official explanation were given.
While the first version said that he had forgotten his passport in Karachi, the other version said he had requested to leave later as he wanted to return to Karachi from Lahore to meet with his father who is not keeping well.
Early today morning, the entire Pakistan squad departed from Lahore for Qatar, from where they will fly to the Caribbean via London, but Afridi didn’t leave with the team.
“Afridi will now join the team after leaving later on Thursday from Karachi,” a board official said. But Afridi’s failure to also attend the last day of the training camp in Lahore yesterday, has also raised eyebrows.
“Something may be wrong but no one is willing to speak about it,” a source close to the team said. The source also pointed out that normally passports of players were with the team well before they left for any tour.
Meanwhile, before the team’s departure for the West Indies, manager Intikhab Alam told the media that he was hopeful of a good performance by the team.
“I am hopeful the young cricketers who have been picked in the side will perform well and Inshallah help us to win the series against West Indies,” said Alam.
Pakistan will play a Twenty20 International and five-match ODI series under Shahid Afridi’s captaincy, while two Test-match series under Misbah-ul-Haq.
News © PTI
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