Afridi 35 is said to be under lot of pressure from friends, family and relatives. He has no plans to retire after T20.
The most enthusiastic Afridi has played 27 Tests, 398 ODIs and 90 Twenty20 internationals for Pakistan. Afridi says he is under high pressure to continue playing cricket as “there is no real talent coming through Pakistan”.
“For a while now there is a lot of pressure from my family, a lot of pressure from my friends, including my elders, who say there is no need for me to retire from T20. That is a huge pressure. For now, in truth, I am focusing only on the World Cup. That is a huge challenge for me,” Afridi said ESPN today.
To be noted Afridi has already retired from one-day internationals long with Test captain Misbah Ul Haq.
Misbah continue to lead Pakistan in Tests and Afridi in T20s. But the 35-year-old all-rounder had announced to quit all forms of international cricket after the World T20 in India.
“I want to first see where Pakistan stands in the World Cup. Whether I am capable of taking the team forward. Along with that I want to check where I am standing myself. As far as playing goes my fitness is zabardast (awesome). Energy is also there. I can play cricket. But I would be able to tell things clearly after the World Twenty20,” Afridi said.
“There is a lot of pressure on me that I shouldn’t retire from T20. That I can play on, and as such there is no real talent coming through in Pakistan whose place I am taking,” Afridi was quoted as saying.