The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) clarified on Saturday (May 25) that the national selectors did not offer Shaheen Afridi the vice-captaincy role ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup, slated to be held in the West Indies and USA from June to June 29.

Contrary to several reports claiming that Afridi was offered the position of deputy to Babar Azam during the selection of the Pakistan squad for the global showpiece tournament on Friday (May 24), the PCB mentioned that no such proposal was made to the left-arm quick.

"The selectors were shocked with this news because when they held their nearly two-hour online meeting on Friday, six out of seven selectors were not in favour of having a vice-captain to Babar Azam," a source close to one of the national selectors told PTI.

"The minutes of the meeting are on record as per the instructions of the PCB Chairman. So, today's news about Shaheen declining the vice-captaincy came as a big shock to the selectors," he said.

However, it was revealed that in March, a selector, acting in his personal capacity, had asked Shaheen if he would be interested in the vice-captaincy in the future.

Apparently, the pacer had rejected the offer. It was not surprising either since he was removed from the T20I captaincy after just one series.

On Saturday, several reports suggested that the offer of the vice-captaincy was made to Shaheen Afridi earlier this week. The source termed it as an effort by some outside elements to tarnish the image of PCB and selectors.

"Shaheen was obviously not happy when his captaincy term was cut short after he captained in just one series in New Zealand in January," he said.

(With PTI inputs)