"Never Asked Shaheen Shah Afridi To Become Pakistan Captain..'- Shahid Afridi

Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has dismissed rumors of his involvement in discussions or efforts to promote pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi as the T20I captain. Shahid Afridi clarified that he had no role in Shaheen Afridi’s appointment as Pakistan skipper.

Shaheen Afridi was appointed as the T20I captain on November 15, following Babar Azam’s resignation from leadership across formats. Speculations arose that Shaheen’s father-in-law, Shahid Afridi, might have influenced the decision to secure the speedster’s captaincy.

Always Has Been In The Favor Of Mohammad Rizwan – Shahid Afridi

While talking on a local news channel, Shahid Afridi opened up about the speculations surrounding his alleged influence on captaincy decisions, stating that he always supported Mohammad Rizwan for the leadership role.

“I always have been in the favor of Mohammad Rizwan. I swear, I never talked about making Shaheen the captain, nor did I ever lobby. I am not involved in these things. I don’t have to, and I don’t like it either,” Afridi said.

Babar Azam Should not Be Removed From The Captaincy – Shahid Afridi

Afridi disclosed that he advised PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf to retain Babar Azam as the captain. He emphasized his preference to keep Shaheen Afridi away from the captaincy role. He emphasized that captaincy changes are inevitable and part of the game.

“I said that Babar should not be removed from the captaincy. I wanted to keep Shaheen away from the captaincy. It has to happen; this is what happens to the captain in the end,” he further added.

Entirely Mohammad Hafeez’s Decision – Shahid Afridi

“Shaheen as captain is entirely Mohammad Hafeez’s and the PCB chairman’s decision. I have nothing to do with that. I never lobbied for Shaheen’s captaincy. In fact, I have always wanted to keep Shaheen away from the captaincy.”

The PCB appointed senior batter Shan Masood to replace Babar Azam in Test cricket. The decision to replace Babar Azam came after Pakistan’s inconsistent performance in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, where they failed to secure a berth in the knockout stage.

Also read: Shahid Afridi Wants Abdul Razzaq To Apologize For ‘Distasteful’ Remarks On Aishwarya Rai Bachchan