PAK vs ENG: Shaheen Afridi told to replace Babar Azam as Pakistan's white-ball captain

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Moin Khan has backed fast bowler Shaheen Afridi to lead the team in white-ball formats.

Moin reckons that Shaheen Afridi is the best choice for the captaincy in T20 cricket and he should be appointed the captain soon.

Currently, Babar Azam is Pakistan's captain in ODI and T20I formats. However, the team's performance has repeatedly gone down under his leadership.

Apart from their run to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021 and the final of the T20 World Cup 2022, Pakistan has mostly struggled in the format.

Recently, Pakistan failed to qualify for the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 and was eliminated from the group stage under the captaincy of Babar Azam. As a result, his captaincy is under threat and he could be replaced soon.

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Moin Khan picks Shaheen Afridi to replace Babar Azam as white-ball captain

Recently, Moin Khan picked Shaheen as Pakistan's next white-ball captain and called him a suitable candidate for the leadership in ODIs and T20Is.

The former Pakistan cricketer also added that Mohammad Rizwan cannot be picked for the job because of his age.

"Shaheen Afridi has the ability to lead the team, and the players also like him a lot. He is the best choice for captaincy in T20 cricket. I don't see any other player more suitable for captaincy in white-ball cricket. The issue with Rizwan is his age," Moin Khan was quoted as saying by Saleem Khaliq, a local sports journalist.

Shaheen Afridi has the ability to lead the team, and the players also like him a lot. He is the best choice for captaincy in T20 cricket. I don't see any other player more suitable for captaincy in white-ball cricket. The issue with Rizwan is his age. Moin Khan

— Saleem Khaliq (@saleemkhaliq) September 12, 2024

Shaheen Afridi's previous stint as Pakistan's captain

Shaheen was appointed Pakistan's captain after Babar Azam was removed from the white-ball captaincy after the ODI World Cup 2023, where the team failed to qualify for the semi-finals.

He led Pakistan in a T20I series in New Zealand against the home team but Pakistan lost 1-4.

But Shaheen was removed after just one series in a huge surprise. Mohsin Naqvi replaced Zaka Ashraf as the new PCB chairman and brought back Babar as the team's captain ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.

The decision was highly criticized by the country's former cricketers and experts who felt that Afridi should have been given some more time to prove himself.

The decision to re-appoint Babar as captain backfired as Pakistan failed miserably in the T20 World Cup and suffered humiliating defeats to the USA and India to bow out of the tournament from the group stage.

Shaheen has previous captaincy experience with Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Under his leadership, Lahore Qalandars became PSL champions in 2022 and 2023. On the other hand, Babar Azam is yet to lead a team to a title win.