Former Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi has categorically refuted any involvement in discussions or endeavors aimed at endorsing Shaheen Shah Afridi’s appointment as the T20I captain.
Shahid Afridi’s response comes amid the sudden resignation of Babar Azam from captaincy across all formats, swiftly followed by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) announcements appointing Shaheen as the T20 skipper and Shan Masood as the Test captain.
Afridi, who is also Shaheen’s father-in-law, emphasised during an interview with a local news channel that he has never been in favour of giving captaincy to him. He addressed the swirling speculations surrounding his alleged efforts to influence the decisions regarding the team’s leadership.
“I have never supported making Shaheen as captain. I also criticised the decision after he was made captain of PSL’s franchise Lahore Qalandars,” Afridi said on a local news channel.
“Whose mouths should I shut? By reading things on social media, I’m just feeling regretful,” he added.
“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. Everyone knows me, I have never been involved in these things. I don’t have to, and I don’t like it either,” Shahid Afridi said.
Always tried to keep Shaheen away from captaincy because it always ends badly: Shahid Afridi#SamaaTV #WorldCup23 #Cricket23 #ZorKaJorh @SAfridiOfficial @Mushy_online @yousaf1788 @umairbashirr @sawerapasha pic.twitter.com/Ewuc1cBECB
— SAMAA TV (@SAMAATV) November 16, 2023
Afridi’s statements hint at his preference for retaining Babar Azam as captain while advocating for Shaheen Afridi to stay away from the leadership role.
“I wanted to keep Shaheen away from the captaincy because I knew what how captains are treated in our country. It has to happen; this is what happens to the captain in the end,” he further added.
Notably, Shaheen Shah Afridi’s first assignment as captain will be the five-match T20I series in New Zealand from 12 to 21 January.
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