Pakistan Board, Shahid Afridi Reach Resolution; Afridi Could Play For Hampshire

Even as the tensions between former West Indian captain Chris Gayle and his cricket board escalate, the issues between another former captain, Pakistani Shahid Afridi and the Pakistan Cricket Board seemed to have simmered down.

In what is an indication that both want the matter to be resolved as quickly as possible, Afridi has withdrawn his appeal against the PCB in the High Court and will appear in front of a disciplinary committee soon. In return, the board has said that they will give Afridi the no-objection certificate needed to allow him to play in a t20 league in England. Afridi was to play for Hampshire in their t20 tournament but the issue with PCB had meant that he wasn’t allowed to feature in their early games.

The issues between Afridi and the PCB had cropped up when the all-rounder was given the sack from the captaincy of the limited-overs version following his trouble with the coach Waqar Younis. Afridi had retaliated by conditionally retiring from the game and took pot-shots at the board in an interview.

The board, then, responded by cutting Afridi off from the PCB contract and cancelling his NOC to play for Hampshire. Afridi was asked to appear in front of a disciplinary committee. Afridi filed a court case in response to his NOC-revoking and the Sindh High Court had asked the board to appear before it last week and it barely looked like a resolution was in sight.

However, Afridi and PCB chairman Ejaz Butt met on Wednesday and as a result, the legal team of Afridi has withdrawn the complaint from the court. Afridi will now face the disciplinary proceedings but as a part of the deal, the NOC will be reinstated. There is no clarity over the reinstatement of Afridi’s national contract yet.