Average with ball, spot on with tactics: How Shaheen delivered on his ODI captaincy debut

How Shaheen performed vs SA [Source: AFP Photo]

Pakistan defeated South Africa in the 3rd ODI to clinch the series against South Africa. It turned out to be a one-sided contest as the hosts ran riot and won the game without breaking a sweat. This was Shaheen Afridi’s first series as the Pakistan captain, and he came out with flying colours as the Men in Green conquered the Proteas.

It was a litmus test for the newly appointed captain, and he showed his class as Pakistan clinched the series, 2-1, to boost their confidence ahead of the matches vs Sri Lanka. The team performed exceedingly well, but how did Shaheen fare as a bowler and as a tactical captain vs South Africa? Here’s the breakdown.

Shaheen Afridi performance as bowler vs South Africa

(Shaheen vs South Africa)

• Just three wickets in 3 matches summed up Shaheen’s performance with the ball on his first series outing as captain. He struggled to break the top order partnership as the Proteas openers played him with utmost ease.
• Moreover, Shaheen had an average of 38 as the left-arm seamer failed to deliver the goods against the South African side.
• Interestingly, his three wickets were all tail-enders as the main bowler of the Pakistan side couldn’t dismiss the top-order batters as they played him rather easily.

Why Shaheen struggled for wickets

The wickets in Faisalabad favoured the pacers in the first two games, and yet, Shaheen failed to leave his mark. On same wickets, Nandre Burger ran riot in the second ODI, but the Pakistan captain couldn’t take wickets up front.

He lacked the speed to trouble the South African batters, and the lines and lengths were also not accurate as his spell was easily negotiated.

What Shaheen did right as the captain in the ODI series

• Excellent use of the spinners: Shaheen the bowler failed, but Shaheen the captain was nearly spot on with his captaincy. He understood that the Faisalabad wicket had something for the spinners, and he played a plethora of them to trouble the South Africans.
• Moreover, South African batters relish playing against pacers but not so much against spinners. Hence, in the ODIs, he used to bowl in the powerplay from one end, and used to bring in Saim Ayub from the other end and the move worked wonders as the part-time spinners troubled their top order.
• Good preparations for 2027 World Cup: Reportedly, Shaheen and coach Mike Hesson urged the curator to prepare sporting wickets in the first two ODIs so that the batters could prepare themselves for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa. The result - that the batters struggled for runs, but they got an opportunity to understand the type of wickets they would get in South African conditions.

Final verdict

Shaheen had mixed fortunes as the captain of Pakistan in his first assignment. While he struggled to break partnerships and only took 3 wickets at an average of 38, his captaincy was spot on, especially the usage of spinners against South Africans.

With time, Shaheen would get better, but a win in his maiden ODI series will be a confidence booster for him and the team.

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