Shahid Afridi bids adieu to international cricket

New Delhi [India], Feb. 20(ANI): Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi on Sunday announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing to an end his illustrious 21-year career, as per local Pakistan media reports. Nicknamed 'Boom Boom', the 36-year-old all-rounder was currently active in the International Twenty20 format after having quit Test cricket in 2010 and One-Day Internationals(ODI) in 2015. Afridi had been a fan favourite since he burst onto the scene in 1996, striking a 37-ball century against Sri Lanka in only his second match to set a world record that was unbeaten for 17 years. He became known as a bowling all-rounder in the second half of his career and was instrumental in Pakistan's early successes in Twenty20, including their 2009 victory. He captained the Pakistan Twenty20 team during the 2016 world championships in India, but stepped down as skipper after the tournament. After stopping short of retirement following Pakistan's first round exit at the 2016 World Twenty20, Afridi had wanted to play a farewell Twenty20 match against West Indies in United Arab Emirates in September. But selectors, with one eye on the future, did not pick him in the squad. His blistering breakthrough century in Nairobi in 1996 was only surpassed by New Zealand's Corey Anderson's 36-ball hundred against West Indies at Queenstown in 2014. Afridi finishes his international career having played 27 Test matches, in which he hit 1,176 runs with a highest score of 156 and 48 wickets. In the 398 ODIs that he played throughout his career, he notched up 8,064 runs, with a highest score of 124, and took 395 wickets with his leg spin. His Twenty20 international career saw him play 98 matches and score 1,405 runs and take 97 wickets.(ANI)