PCB reconsidering 'dropped' Afridi for West Indies after Pak's CT flop

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been reportedly considering the return of all-rounder Shahid Afridi to the squad for the upcoming West Indies tour due to the team's woeful campaign at the ICC Champions Trophy.

The Champions Trophy snub was the second for Afridi within six months, after being dropped for the one-day series in India, owing to his poor form in the South Africa tour, despite his abilities as an effective spin bowler, the Express Tribune reports.

However, Pakistan's poor show at the Champions Trophy, where most of the senior players failed with the bat, has forced the selection committee to re-think, with a selector saying that the debate on recalling the star all-rounder has started within the selection committee, inspite of the vacant chairman seat.

Stating that even experienced players like former captain Shoaib Malik, who was preferred for his valuable knocks in South Africa, have failed to perform in the Champions Trophy, the selector said that the board is reconsidering Afridi as he is experienced and may regain rhythm after a break.

The selector further said that players like Younus Khan, Ahmed Shahzad and Hammad Azam are also under consideration, although he added that formal talks are yet to be undertaken over the subject.

Another PCB official said the selection committee members had an 'informal' discussion with head coach Dav Whatmore about the team's failure in which the head coach assessed players' performance and their mistakes.