Shaheen Afridi will lead Pakistan for the first time in T20Is in New Zealand.
After the embarrassing performance in the ICC World Cup 2023, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made sweeping changes. First, Babar Azam stepped down as captain of the team in all formats. And then Shan Masood was named the captain of the Test team, while Shaheen Afridi was handed the reins of the T20I side.
Shahid Afridi had a funny take on Shaheen becoming the captain for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand and he came up with an explanation involving veteran star Mohammad Rizwan.
During a recent event attended by Rizwan, Shaheen, fast bowler Haris Rauf, and senior wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed, Afridi was all praise for Rizwan.
He lauded the veteran star's performance in the World Cup and said that he wanted Rizwan to be the T20 captain but Shaheen got the job "Galti say (by mistake)".
“I admire Rizwan's hard work and focus level. His best quality, which I like most, is only focusing on his game and paying no heed to who doing what and what is not. He is really a fighter! I wanted to see him (Rizwan) as the T20 captain, but Shaheen became the skipper by mistake,” said Afridi in an event organized by the Shahid Afridi Foundation.
Shaheen’s first assignment as captain will be the upcoming 5-T20I series in New Zealand, where Pakistan will play the matches on January 14, 17, 19, and 21.