- Shahid Afridi commented on Shaheen Afridi losing T20I captaincy.
- Afridi advised Shaheen to focus on playing, not captaincy
- Afridi reiterated his support for Mohammad Rizwan as captain.
Shaheen was succeeded by Babar Azam, who was appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as the leader of the limited-overs team.
“I want Shaheen to focus on his own cricket,” Afridi stated, indicating that the left-arm fast bowler disregarded his counsel against accepting the captaincy of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Lahore Qalandars.
“I always tried to keep Shaheen away from captaincy,” Afridi continued, pointing out that many past captains, including himself, didn’t have a positive conclusion to their tenure as leaders.
The board declared in a statement that the shift in leadership was a “strategic move” designed to promote player well-being and optimal performance, and that the decision demonstrated PCB’s commitment to preserving the careers of the players, particularly the fast bowlers.
It’s worth noting that the board had named Shaheen as the T20 team’s captain after Babar stepped down from the crucial role in November of the previous year due to the team’s subpar performance in the 2023 Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup.
When discussing his perspective on the team’s leadership, Afridi reiterated his endorsement for Mohammad Rizwan and remembered that he had actually suggested to the former PCB chairman to name the wicket-keeper batter as the team’s leader in white-ball cricket.
Azam’s initial task as the reappointed captain will be the T20I series against New Zealand, commencing on April 18.
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