Legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi has lashed out at the Pakistan Cricket Board amidst the speculations of Shaheen Shah Afridi’s T20I captaincy in danger. Shaheen replaced Babar Azam as Pakistan’s T20I skipper last year after their below-par show in the ODI World Cup. Babar was removed as Pakistan captain after the ICC tournament as the board went ahead with Shaheen as the shortest format captain with the T20 World Cup 2024 in sight.
Shaheen started his captaincy journey in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand but it was a disastrous start for him and the team. Pakistan lost the series 1-4 as the left-arm pacer’s captaincy attributes came under scrutiny. Things went downhill for him in the Pakistan Super League 2024 as Lahore Qalandars won just one match out of 10 in the league under his leadership and finished bottom of the table.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has suggested that the new chief selector will determine who is going to lead Pakistan in the T20I team.
Shahid lashed out at the board for not backing Shaheen, who is also his son-in-law, and suggested whenever the board chief changes he tends to do such things.
“I think that if you have appointed someone as captain (Shaheen) and given him the responsibility then give him time as well,” Afridi told the media on Tuesday.
“The biggest problem with our cricket is that our system changes whenever the faces change in the board. Whoever comes thinks whatever he is doing is the best for Pakistan cricket,” said Afridi.
Afridi, former Pakistan captain, remarked that Shaheen should be given adequate time to prove himself.
“If you change the captain then either the decision to appoint him was wrong or the decision to change him now is wrong,” he added.
Afridi was seen as one of the main driving forces behind the appointment of Shaheen as the national T20 captain after last year’s ODI World Cup India. Babar Azam was removed as the white-ball captain after Pakistan failed to advance beyond the league stages. The skipper then stepped down in the red-ball format.
Afridi also backed the appointment of a foreign coach but said he should be a high-profile person like Andy Flower, who has a great track record.
“I believe that even if you bring in a foreign coach, the staff under him should be Pakistani so that our people can also move forward and improve their skills,” he said.
Asked about the decision to include Imad Wasim and Muhammad Amir in the national training camp, Afridi felt it would have been better to first assess their fitness.
“But I can tell you that if they can come through this two-week training camp in Kakul they will be supermen,” he said.
Amir, back from retirement after 2020, has also backed Shaheen as T20 captain.
He tweeted, “Shaheen is not bad and I think he should be given time to prove his credentials.”
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