Shaheen Afridi’s latest Instagram story after losing T20I captaincy raises eyebrows
Babar Azam was named as skipper in limited-overs cricket by PCB
Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi’s latest Instagram story, after being stripped of T20I captaincy of the national side, raised eyebrows on Friday.
The lanky pacer shared a video which stated that "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”.
It must be noted that the Pakistan Cricket Board last month named Babar Azam as the new white-ball skipper of the national side.
The PCB said that the change was “a strategic move aimed at ensuring player well-being and peak performance”.
“While Shaheen Afridi has undeniably proven himself as a star fast bowler, leading Pakistan’s pace attack over the years, the board recognises the importance of rotation and rest to maintain his peak performance. This decision aligns with board's commitment to safeguarding the longevity of the players, especially fast bowlers given their injury timelines in the past two years,” the PCB added.
“Keeping in mind workload management, this decision is to ensure Pakistan main bowlers remain at the top of their game. The board does not want the national men’s team to run into injury crisis concerning the bowling resoucres as seen before the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, where Shaheen had to bee closely looked after and ICC ODI Cricket World Cup 2023, where the team didn’t have the services of Naseem Shah.”
Earlier, sources close to Shaheen shared that the pacer was “extremely unhappy with the PCB” for releasing the statement without first speaking to him.
“Shaheen Afridi came to know about his quotes through social media and he was surprised that how come this is being broadcast everywhere,” they said.
“It was an absolute honour to captain the Pakistan National Cricket Team. I will always cherish the memories and the opportunity. As a team player, it is my duty to back our captain, Babar Azam. I have played under his captaincy and have nothing but respect for him. I will try to help him on and off the field. We are all one. Our aim is the same, to help Pakistan become the best team in the world,” Afridi was quoted in the PCB statement as saying.
Azam’s first assignment as captain after being reappointed will be the T20I series against New Zealand, which begins on April 18.
Pakistan vs New Zealand T20I series schedule
14 April – New Zealand arrive in Pakistan
16-17 April – Training/practice
18 April – 1st T20I, Rawalpindi
20 April – 2nd T20I, Rawalpindi
21 April – 3rd T20I, Rawalpindi
25 April – 4th T20I, Lahore
27 April – 5th T20I, Lahore
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