The PAK star has not derived successful results yet and there have been emerging reports of his captaincy being in jeopardy.
In a recent dilemma, Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan has challenged the captaincy of talismanic pacer Shaheen Afridi. Shadab has called for continuity in the side’s captaincy after emerging reports on Shaheen Afridi’s role as T20I skipper being in jeopardy.
After Babar Azam’s removal as an all-format skipper following their dismal 2023 ODI World Cup campaign, Shaheen Afridi was bestowed with the captaincy reins in the shorter format.
Afridi showcased his leadership abilities by helping Lahore Qalandars to back-to-back titles in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, which further backed his cause.
However, after taking over the captaincy last December in the T20I format, he has led the side in only one series which was against New Zealand where the Men in Green suffered an embarrassing 1-4 defeat.
Following that, the Afridi-led Lahore Qalandars suffered a last-place finish in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL 9), winning only one of their 10 games.
Speaking at a post-match press conference after helping Islamabad United to advance to the grand final, their skipper Shadab Khan opened up on the current complexities in Pakistan’s captaincy.
Shadab said, “Even now, look, we’ve given Shaheen a series, and we’re contemplating changing his captaincy. It shouldn’t be like this because in the long term, one should be given a chance to captain properly according to his process, and his method. Because we want to experiment, win series as well, which could lead to issues.”
He added, “A captain has his own thought process, and right now, it’s unclear because of discussions about changing the captain after just one series. With the World Cup, I think we need to identify players for the long run so that by the time we reach the World Cup, our issues are resolved,” he added.
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Pakistan’s next T20I fixture is a five-match home series against New Zealand, which will be followed by four T20Is against England before the World Cup commences in June.
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