Afridi asks for rest

For the upcoming West Indies tour that begins on April 18 Pakistan’s limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi and other senior members of the team may be rested.

Pakistan have had a very busy schedule in recent times, starting with the World Twenty20 in April 2010 followed by the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and a tour of England, which included full series against Australia and the home side. Next was another full-fledged bilateral series in the UAE against South Africa, and a long tour of New Zealand, before the team returned to the subcontinent for the World Cup. In addition to their gruelling on-field commitments, the Pakistan team also hurtled from one off-field controversy to another, including the spot-fixing scandal and Zulqarnain Haider’s mysterious exit from the team hotel in UAE. The West Indies tour includes a Twenty20, five one-dayers and two Tests, and allows the players less than three weeks for rest.