Shahid Afridi should bid 'goodbye to cricket' says former Pakistan spinner Abdul Qadir

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir has said that it's time that Shahid Afridi says goodbye to cricket while also slamming wicketkeeper Umar Akmal for losing his place in the team. The leg spinner who was one of the best bowlers of his craft agreed that it was Akmal's own mistakes that led to his ouster from the national team.

The former T20 skipper is a wildly popular figure in Pakistan, but he has been criticised over his performances by ex-players with many of them calling for his retirement. Former coach Waqar Younis recently laid the blame for Pakistan's early exit from the ICC T20 World Cup on Afridi's shoulders.

Speaking to the media, Qadir said: "I don't think cricket is any longer the forte of Afridi and he should say goodbye."

The former spinner also lashed out at opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal who were excluded from the squad for Pakistan's tour of England this summer.

"To me Shehzad is simply more of an actor than a cricketer while Umar Akmal has lost his place in the team because of his own mistakes."

Pakistan's cricket administration has always attracted controversy and criticism from past players and Qadir was no different as he blasted the alleged culture of favouritism and nepotism.

"This culture has destroyed the fabric of our sports particularly cricket. In every department in the Pakistan cricket board there are people who have been appointed because of favouritism and nepotism. Najam Sethi who heads the executive committee also came in because of the prime minister."

"Many former players have either declined to join this board or have been wasted and this is because they are not allowed to work properly and honestly."