The Pakistan Cricket Board yesterday accepted the decision of Shahid Afridi to step down as captain of the Test team but said his deputy Salman Butt was not an automatic choice to take over for the rest of the five-day matches during the tour of England
The Pakistan Cricket Board yesterday accepted the decision of Shahid Afridi to step down as captain of the Test team but said his deputy Salman Butt was not an automatic choice to take over for the rest of the five-day matches during the tour of England.
Afridi's decision to retire as the Test captain means Pakistan cricket has seen four Test captain change since early 2009, when Shoaib Malik was removed after a home series defeat to Sri Lanka.
"I have accepted the resignation of Afridi as Test captain but he would continue to lead the team in one-dayers and T20 internationals," PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said from London.
"We had appointed Afridi as captain for all three formats of the game for the tour to England, but if he is not comfortable now playing the longer version of the game we can't force him to carry on as Test captain," Butt added.
The PCB chairman said Afridi's decision had come as a surprise and the Board would now meet in next few days to decide who will captain the Test team for the rest of the England tour. "Salman Butt is not the automatic choice despite being vice-captain as it is the discretion of the Board to decide who should lead the Test team," Butt said. He refuesd to comment on the future of Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf.
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