Star Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi has come under scrutiny amid Lahore Qalandars poor show in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) campaign. After leading the franchise to back-to-back titles in the last two campaigns, Shaheen has not been able to inspire Lahore Qalandars this season. The franchise’s performance has been subpar this season, winning only one match and finishing at the bottom of the points table. According to Cricket Pakistan, Shaheen is all set to lose his place as captain of Pakistan’s T20 team.
According to the report, Shaheen is too young to carry the responsibility for now.
“PCB’s new chairman Mohsin Naqvi has been receiving suggestions for a change in captaincy. Some believe that 23-year-old Shaheen is too young for this responsibility and needs more maturity,” the report claimed.
Pakistan are set to take on New Zealand in a T20 series next month, and the call on Shaheen’s future as captain will be taken by Naqvi before it, keeping the upcoming T20 World Cup in mind.
“On the other hand, some board members believe that a decision to change leadership close to the World Cup might not be wise as it could negatively impact the team’s performance. The final decision will be made by the chairman,” the report added.
It is also worth mentioning that wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan could be appointed as the new captain, with former skipper Babar Azam‘s name also in discussion.
“In case of a change, there is a higher possibility that Muhammad Rizwan will be appointed for the role. However, Babar Azam will be in contention too,” the report further suggested.
For the unversed, Shaheen took charge as Pakistan’s T20 captain after Babar stepped down from his role after the ODI World Cup in India last year.
Babar had relinquished his role after Pakistan failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.
Shaheen had led Pakistan in a five-match series in New Zealand earlier this year. However, the visitors lost the series 1-4, winning the final game of the series.
On the other hand, both Rizwan and Babar will look to guide their respective franchises to the PSL title.
Rizwan’s Multan Sultans ended the group phase at the top spot, having won seven of their 10 matches.
Peshawar Zalmi also qualified for the playoffs on Monday, beating Karachi Kings in a crunch game, with Babar scoring a fifty.
Babar is the leading scorer in the tournament so far with 498 runs in nine matches.
Topics mentioned in this article
