Pakistan Cricket Team has been going through a turmoil over the past few months. The Men in Green had an underwhelming outing in India, having failed to qualify for the World Cup Semifinals. With so much under scrutiny, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had big calls to make!
The PCB announced on Wednesday, announced the appointment of former Pakistan captain, Mohammad Hafeez as the Director of the Pakistan Cricket Team. The 43-year-old has been elected by the PCB for a major role in the scheme of things related to the senior team.
With new personnel at the helm, we knew in hindsight that major changes were yet to come! Later, it was announced that Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood were given the responsibility as captains. Under-scrutiny captain Babar Azam was axed from his role as captain from all formats.
Questions have been raised over Shahid Afridi's involvement in the decision of captaincy changes. Shaheen Shah Afridi is the son-in-law of Shahid Afridi. Shahid Afridi, while being on a show on SAMAA NEWS, denied all claims of his involvement in choosing his son-in-law as Pakistan Captain.
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What did Shahid Afridi say about his involvement in the decision-making of Pakistan captain?
Shahid Afridi spoke with clarity about his role in the Pakistan Cricket Board. The 46-year-old denied any involvement in the decision-making of the newly-appointed captains. Afridi stated that it was entirely the decision of Mohammad Hafeez, along with the PCB Chairman.
Even the PM Sahab asked me about the captaincy issue. I even told him, that it would not be wise to sack Babar (Azam) off his duties as captain in Tests. If need be, elect (Muhammad) Rizwan as captain. I have been an advocate of this for sometime now.
Even while speaking to the PCB Chairman, Afridi stated that his view remained the same. He gave his reasoning behind Muhammad Rizwan being his first choice to replace Babar as captain.
“Making Shaheen a captain is entirely Hafeez’s and the PCB chairman’s decision. I have nothing to do with that. I was against it even when he took over Lahore’s captaincy. I told the Chairman not to remove Babar yet. Even if you do, make Rizwan a captain then”, @SAfridiOfficial pic.twitter.com/efL4TqdVlw
— Ihtisham Ul Haq (@iihtishamm) November 16, 2023
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How has Shahid Afridi reacted to public's claims and critics?
Shahid Afridi is aware that the general public has thrown him under the bus in the past 24 hours. The commoners blamed Afridi for committing lobbying. However, Afridi denied his involvement in the recently-made captaincy decision.
I know that people will blame me for alleged lobbying for the captaincy decision. I know my relation with Shaheen will cast doubts of my involvement. I do not understand the mentality of the public, they have been posting about "Lala (Shahid Afridi) committing lobbying". I have not done anything, Shahid Afridi reiterated.
What next for Pakistan?
After an early exit from the ODI World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Team will change their focus on the red-ball cricket. The Men in Green are scheduled to face Australia in a three-match Test series, on away soil.
The first Test starting from December 14, will be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
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