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'Shaheen Became Pakistan's Captain Mistakenly, Rizwan Should...,' - Shahid Afridi

image-lqsymv3mShaheen Shah Afridi will lead Pakistan in New Zealand T20Is [X.com]

Post World Cup 2023, Babar Azam's resignation as Pakistan's all-format skipper provided a chance for other top stars to stake claims to captaincy.

Leading the contenders list were Test vice-captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, who were eyeing a leadership stint in T20Is after tasting success as captains in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), ahead of Pakistan's five-T20I tour of New Zealand, appointed Shaheen as captain, which former skipper Shahid Afridi does not approve.

Shahid, who is also Shaheen's father-in-law praised Rizwan's hardwork and focus while stating how the left-arm pacer mistakenly got the captaincy role.

Here's what Shahid said

“I admire Rizwan's hardwork and focus level. His best quality, which I like most, is only focusing on his game and paying no heed to who doing what and what not. He is really a fighter! I want to see him [Rizwan] as the T20 captain but mistakenly, Shaheen became the skipper.”

As reported by Geo, Shahid was speaking at an event in Australia, which also had Pakistan players like Shaheen, Rizwan, and Haris Rauf in attendance. 

Shaheen helped Lahore Qalandars (LQ) win successive PSL titles under his leadership during the 2022 and 2023 editions, while Rizwan guided Multan Sultans (MS) to their maiden trophy in 2021. 

Earlier, too, Shahid had spoken about him not encouraging Shaheen to take up the T20I captaincy role and focus on his bowling for a year or two more.