KARACHI, April 27: All-rounder Shahid Afridi has withdrawn his temporary retirement from Test cricket, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Thursday.

Afridi, 26, shocked his team when he announced earlier this month that he was giving up the longer form of the game until after the 2007 World Cup to concentrate on limited-overs cricket.

PCB Chairman, Shaharyar M. Khan “has persuaded Shahid Afridi to withdraw his temporary retirement from Test cricket,” a board's spokesman said.

The PCB chief had asked Afridi to review his decision “in the national interest and had assured him that PCB would be sensitive to the pressures that had led to his earlier decision,” the spokesman said.

“Afridi agreed to respond to the PCB chairman’s call and dedicated himself to the success of the team.”

The decision means Afridi will be available for Pakistan's tour of England in July and August, for the home series against the West Indies in November and also for their tour of South Africa early next year.

Afridi said in mid-April the strain of an excessive cricketing schedule was the main reason behind his decision and that he was not getting enough time to spend with his family.

Former captain Imran Khan has said that Afridi's decision was “sentimental”.

International Cricket Council President Ehsan Mani criticised him for refusing to play Tests while at the same time being ready to play for Ireland in the C&G trophy.

Afridi, an aggressive batsman and a handy leg-spinner, has done well in both forms of the game, scoring 1,634 runs with five centuries in 24 Tests besides taking 44 wickets.

He hit a career-best 156 and another century in the Test series against India in January this year.

He holds the world record for the fastest one-day hundred, notched off just 37 balls against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in 1996. In a total of 222 One-day Internationals, he has scored 4,824 runs and taken 184 wickets. —Agencies