File photo of Shaheen Afridi© AFP
Pakistan cricket team fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has shared a cryptic post on his Instagram account amid ongoing controversy surrounding the captaincy of the national side. Shaheen was stripped of the T20 captaincy by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) with Babar Azam regaining the position. The decision was taken after Pakistan slumped to a 4-1 series defeat against New Zealand just ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. Shaheen shared a video on his Instagram story which featured the lines – “Never ever put me in a position where I have to show you how cruel and ruthless I can be. Don’t test my patience. Because I might be the kindest and sweetest person you’ve ever met, but once I reach my limit, you’ll see me do the things that no one thought I was capable of doing.”
Earlier, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi opened up about his son-in-law Shaheen Shah Afridi’s recent removal from captaincy and revealed that he always wanted to keep the young pacer away from the skipper’s role.
After the captaincy fiasco, Shahid Afridi wants Shaheen to focus on his cricket and revealed that he always wanted to keep the young pacer away from captaincy as for most players it didn’t end well including himself.
“I want Shaheen to focus on his own cricket. I always tried to keep Shaheen away from captaincy,” Afridi said in a statement as quoted from Geo News.
Shaheen was handed T20I captaincy based on his performances in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he led Lahore Qalandars to consecutive title wins in 2022 and 2023.
While announcing the change in captaincy, PCB stated that reinstating Babar was a “strategic move” that was aimed at ensuring player well-being and peak performance.
Azam’s first assignment after reappointment as captain will be the upcoming five-match home T20I series against New Zealand from April 18 onwards. With the T20 World Cup just two months away, Pakistan would aim to enhance their preparations for the marquee event under his leadership.
It was under his leadership that Pakistan reached the final of the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022. They would now be hoping to go one better as the tournament shifts to the USA and West Indies.
(With ANI inputs)
Topics mentioned in this article
