Shaheen Afridi Could Quit as Pakistan T20I Captain: Report

All is net well with Pakistan cricket as Shaheen Afridi is mulling over quitting as the T20I captain after being disappointed at not being involved by the Pakistan Cricket Board regarding the team’s future.

According to a report by news agency PTI, Shaheen is upset at not being consulted by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi or being spoken to by the national selectors about their future plans even as they met recently and are now trying to convince former captain Babar Azam to return as the T20I captain.

“Shaheen is rightly upset as being the national T20 captain he expected that even if the board/selectors wanted to remove him they have the decency to also inform him for the reasons behind this and keep him in the loop about everything,” a source was quoted as saying by PTI.

Shaheen is not happy that he hasn’t been kept in the loop as PCB chief held discussions with the national selectors and Babar this week to discuss the T20 World Cup, appointment of coaches and captaincy.

“Shaheen believes that if the Board wants to remove him they should have informed him by now as he is even willing to step down himself. In fact now he has been advised by some of his close ones to do this and step away from all the chaos and confusion being caused by the Board,” the source said.

The 23-year-old Shaheen was appointed as Pakistan T20 captain following 2023 ODI World Cup in India last November when Zaka Ashraf was heading the PCB.

Shaheen’s appointment was made on the basis of his ability to lead Lahore Qalandars franchise in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) to two successive titles.

But after being named captain, Shaheen lost the T20 series in New Zealand 1-4 and also couldn’t repeat his magic with Qalandars as they finished at the bottom of the table in the recent PSL.

Shaheen, who is in the training camp in Kakul under the supervision of Army trainers is expected to hold frank talks with other senior players including Babar, Muhammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan and Fakhar Zaman on the captaincy issue and then make a final call himself.

With PTI Inputs