Afridi quits Peshawar Zalmi citing 'personal reasons'

Published March 25, 2017
Shahid Afridi played for Peshawar Zalmi for both editions of PSL.— AFP/File
Shahid Afridi played for Peshawar Zalmi for both editions of PSL.— AFP/File

Star all-rounder Shahid Afridi announced Saturday that he is parting ways with Peshawar Zalmi, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise he has played for the two seasons of the tournament.

The player took to Twitter to make public his decision, saying he was ending his services as president and player of Peshawar Zalmi owing to "personal reasons".

"I'm announcing my end of service as president and player of Peshawar Zalmi Team due to my personal reasons," he wrote.

The veteran cricket said he was certain his Zalmi fans will support him for all his career choices.

Afridi hinted he might play for another franchise in the PSL next year, saying that he won the trophy for one team, “time for another”.

He also conveyed his best wishes to Peshawar Zalmi, who were crowned PSL winners last month.

However, team captain Darren Sammy seemed unaware of the development, as he was caught off-guard when he first found out about the news on Twitter:

Furthermore, according to Geo franchise owner Javed Afridi was equally unaware of the development and had said that he was unaware of the development.

The flamboyant all-rounder handed over the captaincy to West Indian Darren Sammy before the start of the second edition of PSL after he was named president of Peshawar Zalmi.

Afridi had not been able to play in the highly anticipated PSL 2 final between Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators due to a hand injury.

Afridi announced his retirement from international cricket last month, ending an illustrious and sometimes controversial 21-year career.

The 36-year-old star had already quit Tests in 2010 and ODI cricket after the 2015 World Cup but still skippered the Pakistan Twenty20 team at the 2016 world championships in India.

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