Another PCB blunder? Why Shaheen Afridi was a better fit for T20I captaincy than ODIs

Shaheen Afridi for Pakistan (Source: AFP)

Pakistan cricket is known for its volatile nature, and in the last few years, the captaincy of the national team has been a game of musical chairs. On Monday, October 20, PCB made another big change as they announced Shaheen Afridi as the new ODI captain. The fast bowler has replaced Mohammad Rizwan as the leader in the 50-over format and would be looking to revive Pakistan's fortunes in ODIs after their poor show in the Champions Trophy and the West Indies.

The bigger question is, has PCB made the right choice by appointing Shaheen Afridi as the ODI captain? Pakistan are not doing well in the T20I format as well? So, would it have been more fruitful to appoint Shaheen as the T20I captain instead of ODIs? Let's look at the following parameters to analyse the decision.

Experience and success as captain in T20s

Firstly, Shaheen Afridi has made his name as a leader with his success as captain of Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League. Under his leadership, Lahore Qalandars have won three PSL titles in the last four years but is yet to lead in List A cricket. Thus, he has no experience of captaining a team in the 50-over format, while his PSL success shows he knows how to win multi-team tournaments in a 20-over game.

Shaheen Afridi as captain in PSL

Also, among the players who are currently in the T20I scheme of things for Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi has the best winning percentage in PSL, and thus, he has proven credentials as a leader in the shortest format. He has also led Pakistan in five T20Is earlier, and though that stint was not fruitful, it was just one series, which is a very short time to judge a captain.

T20Is, less stressful for fast bowlers than ODIs

Shaheen Afridi has been injury-prone in the last few years, and Pakistan have been very cautious in managing his workload. Thus, they have preferred to play him in the shortest format and in the last two years, Shaheen Afridi has played 40 T20Is for his country, while that number comes down to 13 ODIs and 4 Tests.

However, with him being appointed an ODI captain now, he would have to play all matches in that format. Instead, if he had been appointed T20I captain, it would have been less taxing as a fast bowler and would have helped him stay fitter and fresher for a longer time.

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Agha Salman's poor form; less captaincy options in T20Is compared to ODIs

Pakistan are trying to play an aggressive brand of cricket in T20Is since Agha Salman has taken over. However, the captain himself has fallen short on this parameter. He has a T20I strike-rate of just 110.21 with an average of 23.37, which has raised doubts over his place in the side.

Salman Ali Agha: T20Is  vs ODIs

Mohammad Rizwan, on the other hand, has at least done well in ODIs as a batter. Pakistan also had the option of making Salman Ali Agha the ODI captain, as it is the format where he has done well. Babar Azam, too, was an option as he is still playing decent cricket in the format.

In the T20Is, though, Pakistan now has a young team, and so there are not many options available to replace Salman Ali Agha. Therefore, Shaheen Afridi, with his experience, could have been a good choice, and they could have gone with other options for ODIs.

Why Shaheen Afridi should not be made both ODI and T20I captain?

Now, as seen above, there could be a temptation to make Shaheen Afridi the T20I captain as well after making him an ODI leader. However, such a move now can prove to be counter-productive. If he takes over the leadership of both the white-ball formats, he would have to play all those games, and that means his Test career could get hampered, which Pakistan cannot afford at this point in time. 

Conclusion:

Thus, Pakistan cricket has found itself in a tricky position again with this new ODI captain decision. Shaheen Afridi would have been a better choice in T20Is, but it is already too late now, and Pakistan fans can just hope that Shaheen Afridi does well as ODI captain, like he has done in PSL. For T20Is, PCB is now likely to back Salman Ali Agha till the T20 World Cup 2026, and he would have to take more responsibility with the bat to bring positive results for his country.

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