Former Pakistan batsman and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has expressed his concerns over Shaheen Afridi becoming the captain of Pakistan’s T20I team.
The left-arm pacer was handed the captaincy last year after Babar Azam stepped down as the captain of Pakistan in all the three formats. While Shan Masood was named as the Test captain, Shaheen Afridi was appointed as the T20I captain. He began his journey as the full-time captain with the ongoing five-match T20I series against New Zealand.
Shaheen Afridi took charge of the T20I team after impressing as a captain in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). In December 2021, he was named as the captain of Lahore Qalandars. In his maiden season as captain, he led the franchise to its first-ever PSL title and became the youngest captain to win a T20 league. The star bowler led from the very front and ended the tournament as the highest wicket-taker. Last year, he once again impressed as captain as Qalandars managed to defend their title.
Ramiz Raja on Shaheen Afridi becoming T20I captain:
Speaking to CricWick, Ramiz Raja expressed his apprehensions over Shaheen Afridi becoming the captain of Pakistan’s T20I team. The former cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Shaheen Afridi has fitness issues and it could have a big impact on the team. He also opined that captaincy is not very challenging in T20s and changing a captain has a lot of demerits.
“There are fitness issues with him. The captaincy is not challenged much in T20s. You already know whom to assign the bowling for the last 2 overs and the first 2 overs. Unlike Test cricket, captaincy is not much of a challenge in T20s,” said Ramiz Raja.
“I only have concerns about his fitness and its impact on the team. When you remove a regular captain, there are also demerits. The way Babar was removed, I am against it,” he added before recalling how the former Pakistan captain found himself under severe pressure during the ODI World Cup last year.
🗣️ Ramiz Raja on the appointment of Shaheen Afridi as T20I captain and his fitness issues 👀#BabarAzam𓃵 #PAKvsNZ #T20WorldCup2024 pic.twitter.com/cQKi7uyUnw
— CricWick (@CricWick) January 11, 2024
