Shahid Afridi Not In Favor Of Shaheen As Captain; Reveals His First Choice After Babar's Exit
Shaheen Afridi with Shahid Afridi [Source: @iShaheenAfridi/x]
Shahid Afridi has made an explosive claim that he was not in favor of Shaheen Afridi becoming Pakistan captain. A former Pakistan skipper himself, the legendary all-rounder stated that Mohammad Rizwan was his initial choice to lead the ‘Men in Green’ after the resignation of Babar Azam.
Babar relinquished his all-format captaincy role after Pakistan’s first-round exit from the 2023 ODI World Cup in India late last year. His exit prompted the PCB to appoint Shan Masood as Pakistan’s Test skipper and fast bowling maverick Shaheen Afridi as limited-overs captain. However, Shaheen was removed from the position after just one series in New Zealand.
Shahid Afridi opposes Shaheen’s removal after one series
While speaking at a conference in Karachi, Shahid Afridi claimed that he was not in favor of the appointment of his son-in-law Shaheen Afridi as Pakistan captain. However, he further stated that the PCB should not have removed the fast bowler from his captaincy role after just one series.
It is worth noting that Shaheen led the Pakistan team in just one series after the resignation of Babar Azam, doing so through a five-match T20I rubber in New Zealand earlier this year. The ‘Men in Green’ ended up losing the series by a 1-4 margin, thus prompting the PCB to reinstate Babar Azam back as captain mere weeks prior to the launch of the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.
Shahid Afridi believes that constant leadership changes within the Pakistan team in the last one year has led to performance issues. He further reckoned that such problems rose whenever a new chairman was appointed by the PCB.
Even though Shahid has admitted that Mohammad Rizwan was his first choice after Babar Azam, the legendary Pakistani all-rounder added that Shaheen Afridi should have received more opportunities as a leader before getting removed by the PCB.
Mohammad Rizwan continues as Pakistan leader
Shortly after Pakistan’s disastrous run at the 2024 T20 World Cup, the PCB retained Shan Masood as Test skipper and appointed wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan as the new limited-overs captain of the national side.
Under the leadership of Rizwan, the Pakistan cricket team recently scripted a historic 2-1 ODI series win in Australia.