Shahid Afridi unperturbed by Shaheen Afridi’s sacking but upset with Babar Azam’s captaincy return

Babar Azam was reinstated as captain of the Pakistan national cricket team on the assertion of newly appointed PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi. The decision comes on the back of proper discussion within the PCB officials keeping the T20 World Cup in mind. 

There has been a lot of development within the Pakistan cricket team within the last week. The likes of Imad Wasim and Mohd Amir took back their national retirement and made themselves available for selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup. 

Shaheen Afridi after a forgetful stint as Pakistan national team captain was asked to step down with Babar Azam reappointed as captain. There were talks about proper communication between PCB and Shaheen Afridi on the subject of captaincy and proper information passed onto Shaheen regarding his stepping down. 

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has given his opinion on Babar Azam’s reappointment as Pakistan captain. Through a tweet, he said that Mohammad Rizwan would have been a better option but now that the decision is made he has offered his full support to Babar. 

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Shahid Afridi On Babar Azam

“I am surprised by the decision by very experienced cricketers in the selection committee. I still believe that if change was necessary than Rizwan was the best choice! But since now the decision has been made I offer my full support and best wishes to team Pakistan and Babar Azam” Afridi said in his tweet. 

I am surprised by the decision by very experienced cricketers in the selection committee. I still believe that if change was necessary than Rizwan was the best choice! But since now the decision has been made I offer my full support and best wishes to team Pakistan and Babar…

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) March 31, 2024

Babar’s appointment ahead of the T20 World Cup in June is a major development within the cricketing fraternity. He led Pakistan in the ICC World Cup 2023. Babar then stepped down on the back of Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the World Cup where they finished fifth with four wins and five losses.

The recommendation to reappoint Babar Azam as the T20 captain reportedly came unanimously from the selection committee, who communicated their decision to PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi. As a result, the 29-year-old batter could lead the team in the Kakul training camp, signaling a swift return to leadership responsibilities.

Babar Azam’s reported return to captaincy comes after his voluntary resignation from the leadership role across all formats in November last year. In addition to the ODI World Cup disappointment, the team’s disappointing displays in tournaments like the Asia Cup further added weight to the return of Babar as captain.

The PCB also changed its administration with Mohammad Hafeez named as the Director of Cricket and Wahab Riaz as the Chairman of Selectors. They named Shaheen as the T20I captain and Shan Masood as the Test skipper. 

Under Masood Australia clean swept Pakistan in a Test series last year while New Zealand won a T20I series 4-1 in a T20I series against Pakistan earlier this year in January. 

“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 told PTI.