Shahid Afridi will be out to prove a point to Pakistan's selectors that his sell-by date is still years away when he walks out for the first international Twenty20 match on local soil on the opening day of the Karp Group Hong Kong Sixes today.
The former Pakistan captain said last week that he was keen to get back into the one-day and Twenty20 team after Zaka Ashraf was appointed earlier this month as the new president of the Pakistan Cricket Board. It cleared the last obstacle for Afridi, who had differences with former incumbent president Ijaz Butt.
Afridi, one of Pakistan's greatest limited-overs players, was dumped as captain after leading the team to a successful series win over the West Indies in the Caribbean in May.
He then sidelined himself from international cricket, announcing a conditional retirement, saying he would only return if there was change at the top. That change has occurred.
'I feel I still have a lot to offer my country in the limited overs format,' Afridi said. 'The reasons why I left have been well documented, but it's time to move on and look to the future and I think the future is bright.'
This weekend could play a pivotal part in the 31-year-old's hopes of extending an illustrious career, which included a key role in winning the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup, and progressing to the semi-finals of this year's (50 overs) World Cup.