PAK vs AUS: 'Wanted Mohammad Rizwan To Be Pakistan's T20I Captain But Shaheen...'- Shahid Afridi

Pakistan’s woes in Australia continued as they lost yet another series on Australian soil. The Pakistani team is yet to win a Test match in Australia in a long time and the loss in Melbourne was their 16th straight loss in the country. It was a tough first captaincy challenge for Shan Masood to face a mighty Australian side at home.

Top names such as Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi, who is also the vice-captain of the side didn’t play as per their reputation and performed below their standards. After the Australian tour, Pakistan will go to New Zealand for a five-match T20I series and will play under the leadership of Afridi.

While Shaheen Afridi is the current captain of the Pakistan T20I side, former Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi didn’t want Shaheen to become the captain of the T20I side. Afridi in a viral video was seen praising wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan and saying that he wanted Rizwan to become the skipper of the Pakistan T20I team.

Shaheen Afridi Became Pakistan T20I Captain By Mistake – Shahid Afridi

However, Shahid Afridi further added that Shaheen became the skipper of the T20I side by mistake. Afridi said during a public event, “Mohammad Rizwan is very much focused towards his game. He doesn’t bother what others do and I like that quality very much. He is a fighter. I wanted Rizwan to be the captain in T20I but Shaheen Afridi became captain by mistake.”

Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood were named as the captains of Pakistan’s T20I and Test side after Babar Azam resigned from the captaincy of all three formats. Babar decision was made after Pakistan’s dismal performance at the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Shahid Afridi praised Muhammad Rizwan and said that Rizwan should have been captain of T20 but Shaheen became it by mistake.#Rizwan #PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/TSECe93ZPM

— Ahtasham Riaz ?? (@AhtashamRiaz_) December 30, 2023

Pakistan faced an early exit from the tournament and was just able to win four matches from nine games. Babar Azam’s performance with the bat was also not appealing and he scored just one fifty in the whole tournament. Babar’s decisions as captain were trolled by the critics due to which he had to step down as the skipper of the team.

With the T20 World Cup ahead next year, Shaheen Afridi will have a daunting task in his hands and once again regroup the team. Afridi has not been performing well in international cricket after recovering from his injury and his pace and swing have decreased.

Pakistan will be playing a five-match T20I series against New Zealand which will start from January 12, 2024. The series will take place just after the Australian tour.

The third Test match of the Qadir-Benaud Trophy will be played from January 3, 2024, at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney.

The Shan Masood-led side team lost the first two matches of the series by 360 and 79 runs respectively. The Australian side will want to end the tour with a win in Sydney and avoid the whitewash. However, every player of the team needs to step up if the team wants to do something different in Sydney.