Afridi, Younus Khan and Asad Shafiq touched down in Karachi, while the rest of the players and officials flew to Lahore where the Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman were present to welcome them.

Despite losing to arch-rivals India in the semifinals, Afridi was greeted at the airport by a large number of hollering fans who chanted "Boom Boom Afridi we love you" and cries of "Pakistan team has done us proud."   However, after all their exploits in the tournament, Afridi wanted a break.

"To lose the semifinal was disappointing but I think now the time has come for senior players to be rested and new players to be tried out," he said.

A PCB source said earlier in the day that Afridi had withdrawn from next month's tour to West Indies as he wanted "a break from the game.”

Emotional scenes were also witnessed at Lahore airport where dozens of fans mobbed the players while others danced around.

"The team has done the nation proud by defeating stronger rivals to reach this semi-final. I hope they continue to perform like this and bring more laurels for the country," Sharif said.

He announced a grand reception for the players on April 5 to celebrate their performance in the World Cup.

Afridi criticized speedster Shoaib Akhtar for abruptly announcing his retirement from the sport midway through the World Cup.

The 35-year-old Shoaib, who has had a rocky international career due to run-ins with authorities and disciplinary issues, said he was quitting the sport on March 17 while Pakistan were gearing up for the knockout stages of the tournament.

"I think he should have consulted us properly and made the announcement before the start of the World Cup or after it. His announcement in the middle was bad timing," Afridi said after returning to Pakistan on Friday.

Shoaib played his last match for Pakistan on March 8, when they were thrashed by New Zealand. He was not picked for any of their remaining matches.   

Afridi was also annoyed with interior minister Rehman Malik, who said on the eve of their semifinal with India that a close watch was being kept on the Pakistan team to avoid any spot fixing incidents.

"The statement disturbed all the players and made no sense.

Next time people should be careful giving such statements," Afridi said.