Afridi may finally get a rousing send-off

Former T20 skipper Shahid Afridi's long-standing demand of a rousing farewell is likely to be fulfilled soon after Pakistan chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq declared that the country's cricket board wants to give its long-serving national team players a graceful send-off.

Without specifically mentioning the names, Inzamam insisted that the players truly deserved to get a befitting farewell for the services they had rendered for Pakistan cricket.

"It's their right," the Dawn quoted Inzamam as saying.

Last year, Afridi had made headlines with his demand for a farewell match during the three-match T20 series against the West Indies which Pakistan went on to clean sweep.

"Farewell match is my right", Afridi had insisted while urging the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to provide him with an opportunity to bid adieu to international arena in a befitting manner.

The flamboyant all-rounder had stepped down from the captaincy after the World T20 debacle in India, where Pakistan could only manage to win just three out of eight matches.

He, however, didn't announce his retirement from the game's shortest format.

On the other hand, Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq and veteran batsman Younis Khan, who both came under criticism following Pakistan's poor performances in the recent tours of Australia and New Zealand, also fall in this category.

However, the PCB left it to Misbah and Younis to make up a decision regarding their retirement.

Meanwhile, Inzamam also reflected his views on Pakistan's captaincy. He reiterated that he would like to see only one captain across all three formats of the game.

"Although that [naming the captain] is PCB chief Shaharyar Khan's domain, I believe one captain for all formats is a good step and other countries have also started doing that," Inzamam said.

"But changing a captain in haste could backfire as the performance in all the other departments has to be reviewed," he added.

The legendary batsman also hinted that the tainted duo of paceman Mohammad Asif and former skipper Salman Butt could earn a national call-up if they're up to the mark.

Pakistan will travel to West Indies for two T20s, three ODIs and three Tests beginning March 31 at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain.