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"Rizwan himself...": Shaheen Afridi drops bombshell on Pakistan ODI captain drama

Soumyajit Dutta

Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi [Source: @CallMeSheri1_/X.com]Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi [Source: @CallMeSheri1_/X.com]

Shaheen Afridi returns in the national setup as captain after a long break and several controversial stances from the PCB as well as the pace bowler himslef. However, in a recent admission, Shaheen shared that he consulted Mohammad Rizwan, his predecessor, before taking up the role.

Rizwan, who is senior to the premier fast bowler of Pakistan, served as the white-ball captain of Pakistan since October 2024 before giving up his ODI role to the 25-year-old.

Afridi opens up on Rizwan giving up captaincy

During the press conference ahead of the Sri Lanka ODI series, Afridi shared details of his chat with Mohammad Rizwan. Afridi shared that he consulted Rizwan for the captaincy role and also revealed that it was the latter who decided to step back.

“When I was becoming [the captain], Rizwan was the only individual with whom I discussed the possibility of representing Pakistan as the captain and what was his feeling [about that] and what does he want. So, Rizwan is a good human being, and Rizwan himself decided that he is taking a step back, and I am replacing him. So, I took this decision after consulting him,” Afridi said.

Rizwan's underwhelming tenure and Afridi's takeover

Notably, Rizwan led the Men in Green in 20 ODIs as he managed to get nine wins and faced 11 defeats with a win percentage of 45. However, his T20I tenure was even more disappointing as he lost all four T20I matches against Australia and South Africa.

Shaheen, who is replacing Mohammad Rizwan, has also not been a great leader in the national jersey either. As he was appointed briefly in 2024 for a New Zealand T20I series, Shaheen's leadership was marked by a 4-1 defeat on the Kiwi soil. However, under his latest leadership, Pakistan saw a resurgence with a 2-1 ODI series win against South Africa at home.