Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi  said yesterday he hopes to force his way back into national contention and put the disastrous World Twenty20 behind him with a strong return to English club Hampshire this season.
The 36-year-old was not included in an ongoing boot camp ahead of Pakistan’s tour of England that begins in July, with many pundits suggesting it was time for the flamboyant all-rounder to call time on his two-decade long career. Afridi issued a video apology to the cricket-mad nation after Pakistan’s exit at the group stages of the WorldT20, and his leadership style was slammed in separate leaked reports by then coach Waqar Younis and team manager Intikhab Alam -- both since sacked.
“It was disappointing that people lied and tried to drag my name in the mud,” he told AFP, without directly referring to the leaks.”They tried to save their positions and then I was subjected to a trial by media,” he added.”We played badly and lost but it was not correct to blame one man only. It was a collective failure.”
Afridi, who retired from one-day internationals last year and from Tests six years ago, said he was looking forward to returning to Hampshire for the first time since 2011. “It will help me force my way back in the Pakistan Twenty20 team and I will always be ready to play for my country,” he said.
Once a leading light in the game’s shortest format who helped his country to their only WorldT20 win in 2009, Afridi’s form has slumped badly in recent times. He managed only 107 runs across his last 10 matches at an average of 13.4 -- almost half of them coming from a 49 against Bangladesh.
His once sharp leg-bowling has also fallen away, managing seven wickets over the same period at an average of 36.0 and a best return of 2/27. But he has enjoyed success for English clubs throughout his career. Turning out for Hampshire in 2011, he took 17 wickets in 10 matches and thumped 80 off 42 balls in the T20 semi-final defeat to Somerset, cementing his place as a fan favourite.
“I have played for Hampshire before and enjoyed the stint and I am going to have another blast this time around as well,” he insisted. Pakistan are set to play four Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 on the tour of England.
In September and October, they will host the West Indies in a series either in United Arab Emirates or Sri Lanka.

Gayle, Sammy, Bravo miss WIndies tri-nation series
Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo were all left out of the West Indies squad for the first four tri-nation one-day international series while T20 matchwinner Carlos Brathwaite has been included.
Off-spinner Sunil Narine and all-rounder Kieron Pollard, who have not played international cricket since November 2015, were included in the 14-man squad for the series against Australia and South Africa starting from June 3. Brathwaite and Marlon Samuels, who played key roles in West Indies’ World T20 triumph earlier this year, have also been included but the squad does not include allrounder Andre Russell, Sammy, Bravo and Gayle, all involved in Indian Premier League cricket.
The squad includes two players who are yet to play in ODIs for the West Indies -- off-spinner Ashley Nurse, who was part of the World T20-winning squad last month, and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who has played 16 Test matches.
The day/night series starts in at the Guyana National Stadium from June 3-7 and then moves to Warner Park, St Kitts (June 11-15) before concluding at Kensington Oval, Barbados (June 19-26).
West Indies squad
Jason Holder (capt), Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Shannon Gabriel, Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Kieron
Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor

King Kohli crowned as IPL’s highest ever scorer
Virat Kohli smashed an unprecedented fourth century of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season -- despite nursing a finger injury -- to become the tournament’s highest ever run-scorer. Kohli, who batted with nine stitches after splitting the webbing in his left hand in the previous game, bludgeoned 113 runs off 50 balls to reach 4,002 runs in the Twenty20 competition.
Kohli surpassed Indian batsman Suresh Raina’s record of 3,985 runs as he led the Royal Challengers Bangalore to another crushing win against Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday.  The in-form 27-year-old this week also became the highest run-getter in a single season, and he now stands at 865 runs in 13 games. Kohli is the first batsman to hit four tons in a single T20 season, which, along with five half-centuries, has taken his average to 86.50 in this year’s competition. Kohli and teammate AB de Villiers also shared a record 229-run second-wicket stand last week, the highest partnership in the history of T20 cricket.