Pakistan replace Afridi as one-day captain

KARACHI, (Reuters) – The Pakistan Cricket Board has  removed Shahid Afridi as one-day team captain for the  forthcoming series against Ireland.
Chairman of the board Ijaz Butt told a media conference in  Islamabad that senior batsman Misbah-ul-Haq would lead the team  in the two one-day matches against Ireland on May 28 and 30.
“Afridi has been retained as a player in the one-day squad  but the captaincy has gone to Misbah,” Butt said without  elaborating the reason for the decision.
Afridi had captained the team to the World Cup semi-finals  where they lost to India and recently also guided them to a 3-2  win over the West Indies in the ODI series in the Caribbean.
Afridi ruffled feathers in the PCB and team when he returned  from the Caribbean early this month and told the media that he  was not happy with people interfering in his work.
Although the all-rounder didn’t name names, media reports  said he had developed differences with head coach Waqar Younis  over team selection issues.
The PCB issued a notice to Afridi to explain his conduct as  he had violated the players’ code of conduct with his statement  on team affairs.
Butt made it clear Afridi had never been given any  assurances regarding the captaincy.
He pointed out that the present policy of the board was to  appoint captain on a series-to-series basis.
Afridi had struggled with bat and ball in the one-day series  in the West Indies but has been leading the national team in  limited overs cricket since early 2010 while Misbah has been  test captain since last year.
The national selectors have made no changes in the test  squad playing in the West Indies at present but included Afridi  and senior batsman Younis Khan in the side for the Ireland  matches.
Younis had returned home before the first test in the West  Indies due to the death of his elder brother.
Pakistan squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Younis Khan, Taufiq  Umar, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Shahid Afridi,  Mohammad Salman,Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul,  Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Tanvir Ahmed, Hammad Azam.