Afridi to stage charity T20 match

Shahid Afridi has said that he is planning a Twenty20 match to raise money for the almost half a million people displaced by a military operation in Pakistan's northwest region.

"I am in talks with the authorities and will soon announce a Twenty20 match in Lahore to raise funds," he told reporters at the launch of his charity foundation. "I want to return to my country what it has given me, with an aim to serve my people."

Afridi said the foundation had set up a 16-bed maternity hospital in the remote Tangi Banda village, which is located in the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The hospital, named after Afridi's father Fazlur Rehman, was paid for by Afridi who said he had been inspired by former Pakistan captain Imran Khan who runs a cancer hospital in Lahore through charity.

Afridi added that his foundation would also work on education and sports to turn youngsters away from the path of extremism. "The youth in remote areas have no education," he said. "If we educate them then they can be more helpful for the country."

Afridi said he would spare more time for his foundation after the 2015 World Cup.