'30s averages and English skills': Ahmed Shehzad slams Pakistan's captaincy picks

KARACHI: Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad has sparked debate after making strong remarks on leadership standards in the national side following Pakistan’s 104-run defeat to Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series here at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

Pakistan’s batting collapse in the fourth innings, where they were bowled out for 163 while chasing 268, shifted attention towards wider questions over selection policies and captaincy criteria rather than just the result itself.

Speaking on a television programme, Shehzad criticised the parameters used for appointing captains in Pakistan cricket and questioned whether on-field performance remained the key deciding factor.

“If you’re going to appoint captains based on 30s averages, then just make ‘good English speaking skills’ the only criteria,” he said, adding that personality and appearance could also be included in the list of requirements.

“Maybe we can forget about actual cricketing ability,” he added.

He further remarked that young cricketers may now believe communication skills outweigh cricketing output when it comes to leadership opportunities.

“At this point, we should start teaching our children that if they want to become captain of the Pakistan team, all they need to improve is spoken English,” he said. “Because apart from that, nothing else seems to matter anymore from a cricketing perspective.”

The comments came after Pakistan’s defeat, in which captain Shan Masood scored just two runs as the hosts slipped early in the chase.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, were inspired by Nahid Rana’s career-best 5-40, with the pacer dismantling Pakistan’s middle order by removing Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan and Noman Ali in a decisive spell after tea.

Earlier in the match, Bangladesh posted 413 in their first innings, led by captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s century and Mominul Haque’s 91, before Pakistan replied with 386 thanks to a debut hundred from Azan Awais and contributions from Abdullah Fazal and Mohammad Rizwan.

Bangladesh then declared their second innings at 240-9, setting a target of 268.

The result pushed Pakistan down to seventh in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 standings with 12 points from three matches, while Bangladesh climbed to sixth with 16 points after securing their first win of the cycle.

For the unversed, the second and final Test of the series will take place in Sylhet from May 16 till 20.