NEWS ALERT

NEWS UPDATE : Asian Cricket Third Sri Lanka-Pakistan ODI abandoned due to rain COLOMBO: The third One-day International between Sri Lanka and Pakistan was abandoned due to rain here at the R Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday. The umpires made this decision after consulting ... Australia want to master all forms of game: Clarke SYDNEY: Australia's limited-overs tour of England and Ireland represents the start of a two-year campaign to make them the top nation in all three forms of the game, captain Michael Clarke said ... Bopara glad to be back for England SOUTHAMPTON, England: Ravi Bopara is eager to make up for lost times as he tries to revive his ... South Africa name unchanged squad for England series JOHANNESBURG: South Africa have kept faith with a winning formula by naming an unchanged squad for the three-Test series in England starting next month, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on ...


Saturday, April 02, 2011

Afridi pulls out of West Indies tour: source

Updated at: 1505 PST,  Friday, April 01, 2011
KARACHI: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has withdrawn from next month's tour to West Indies, a source at the national cricket board told Reuters.The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) source, who declined to be identified, said the 31-year-old all-rounder had made himself unavailable for the tour which starts on April 18."He will not be going to West Indies as apparently he wants to take a break from the game," said the source before adding the player had spoken to the chairman of the PCB and explained he was not in the right frame of mind to go to the Caribbean.Afridi quit test cricket in 2010 but had been expected to play in the one-dayers and Twenty20s in West Indies.Pakistan were knocked out of the World Cup when they lost by 29 runs to rivals India in the semi-finals on Wednesday.Flamboyant Afridi has appeared in 320 one-dayers, 27 tests and 42 Twenty20s for Pakistan.He has been captaining Pakistan in limited-over matches since last year.Pakistan will play one Twenty20, five one-dayers and two tests in West Indies.