In an intriguing revelation, Shaheen Shah Afridi, the captain of Pakistan’s One-Day International team, stated that he only took the position after his predecessor, Mohammad Rizwan, announced his resignation.
“I took this responsibility from the Pakistan Cricket Board after discussing the matter with Rizwan,” Shaheen told the media on Monday.
“Rizwan was the only person I had a discussion with and I asked him how he felt about me accepting the captaincy. Rizwan decided he would make way for me and that is how things worked out,” stated Shaheen, who was also named captain of the Twenty20 team in 2023 but was removed after just one series in New Zealand.
Following Pakistan’s dismal performance in the 2023 World Cup, Babar Azam quit as T20I captain, and Shaheen took over. However, Babar was reinstalled as captain and Shaheen was fired less than six months after the appointment.
During this time, the left-arm pacer had only led in one Twenty20 International series, a five-match series in New Zealand.
Rizwan had promised him complete support, according to Shaheen. He went on to say that as captain, he would support Babar and Rizwan because they were important members of the team with a wealth of experience.
“I have no ego and I talk to everyone for advice, even our former captains. I don’t look at things that happened in the past,” he said.
“Everyone has to take responsibility if you want to improve as a team,” the 25-year-old said, adding, “You can’t keep on saying Babar, Rizwan or Fakhar will do it, it is as a team we have to click and take responsibility.
“As far as Rizwan is concerned, he is Pakistan’s top-scorer in one-dayers since 2023. We are trying to back players who are not in form so that they can do well in future.
“Babar can falter in one or two matches but he is in good touch and I hope he will score a hundred soon,” he said.
Shaheen stated that he was excited to lead the team in the 2027 World Cup even though the PCB had not set him a specific time frame for captaincy.
