Superstar all-rounder Shahid Afridi quashed speculations over his return to the ODI side after Pakistan's series loss to Bangladesh and called upon fans to be patient during the team's 'rebuilding' phase.
Afridi, who will lead Pakistan in the lone T20 against Bangladesh, said while the team's performances in the ODIs were frustrating, he had no intentions of going back on his decision to retire from the 50-over game.
“My decision is final. We have to understand that the new players will take time to adjust and settle down and we have to give them proper time for this,” Afridi, who will remain captain of the T20 side until the 2016 World T20, told reporters.
The 34-year-old bowed out of ODIs with his dreams unfulfilled as Pakistan crashed out in the 2015 World Cup quarter-finals against Australia.
The flamboyant leg spinner, who has played 389 one-day internationals plus 27 Tests and 77 T20 matches for Pakistan, said he was now solely focussed on building a strong T20 squad.
“We have some exciting players in our T20 squad and my aim as captain now is to build up a strong outfit,” Afridi, who held the ODI record for the fastest century until it was broken by New Zealand's Corey Anderson in 2014, said.
“That we lost the one-day series to Bangladesh will not make a difference to us and we want to win this lone T20 game,” Afridi added.
