"Shaheen Shah Afridi Takes Everyone Along.."- Fakhar Zaman Takes An Indirect Dig At Babar Azam

Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman has hailed Shaheen Afridi’s leadership qualities as the latter gears up to lead Pakistan in T20Is. The fast-bowler was recently appointed as Pakistan’s T20I captain after Babar Azam stepped down as captain in all three formats following his team’s poor performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Fakhar Zaman stated that his Pakistan teammate proved him as well as other skeptics wrong with his captaincy in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Shaheen Afridi was appointed as Lahore Qalandars’ captain in December 2021 and he made an instant impact by leading the franchise to its first-ever PSL title in PSL 2022.

Earlier this year, Qalandars successfully defended their title. Shaheen Afridi also became the youngest captain to win a T20 league. He led his team from the very front in both seasons. In PSL 2022, he was the highest wicket-taker while in 2023, he was the fourth-highest wicket-taker.

“Shaheen is an energetic young man, and I really like his fighting spirit as a captain. The way I found him as a captain and the manner in which he proved many people wrong including me, especially during his captaincy in the PSL, is commendable,” Fakhar Zaman told Cricket Pakistan.

“When he became the captain in the PSL, he showed a lot of improvement match by match. Our prayers and hopes are that the mindset he has brought to Lahore Qalandars for the past two years, he does the same for Pakistan. He takes everyone along with him, and his fearless attitude as a captain, are qualities that one should look for in a leader,” he added.

I hope he achieves great success: Fakhar Zaman:

Speaking further, Fakhar Zaman expressed his desire to see Shaheen Afridi injury-free and wished him great success. The left-arm pacer is currently in Australia for the upcoming three-match Test series against the home side.

“My only prayer is that he doesn’t face any fitness issues in the team that he will lead. As we have seen in cases like Naseem Shah and others in 2023 World Cup, it makes a significant difference if one or a few players face fitness issues. I hope he achieves great success in his captaincy,” said Fakhar Zaman.

Afridi’s first assignment as Pakistan’s T20I captain will be the tour of New Zealand next month. Pakistan are scheduled to play five T20Is against the Black Caps.

Pakistan vs New Zealand T20I series schedule:

January 12: New Zealand vs Pakistan – First T20I in Auckland
January 14: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Second T20I in Hamilton
January 17: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Third T20I in Dunedin
January 19: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Fourth T20I in Christchurch
January 21: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Fifth T20I in Christchurch