Shadab Khan: “Even now, look, we’ve given Shaheen a series, and we’re contemplating changing his captaincy. It shouldn’t be like this because in the long term, one should be given a chance to captain properly according to his process, his method”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan spin-bowling all-rounder Shadab Khan doesn’t want to see Shaheen Shah Afridi removed as T20I captain as he feels it is unwise to keep making changes immediately.
Afridi has only led the men in green once, which was in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand in January 2024.
Pakistan lost that series 4-1 and in the time that has passed, rumours have surfaced about a potential change in leadership.
So far, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam’s names have popped up as potential frontrunners, but Shadab believes that Afridi should be allowed to continue as he hasn’t had a fair chance to prove himself as captain.
“Whenever you bring someone in, things can’t change immediately. It takes time. We want many things to change immediately, but that’s not how it works; it’s a process. In this process, there are mostly failures in the beginning, and it’s important to see how we accept those failures,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
“Even now, look, we’ve given Shaheen a series, and we’re contemplating changing his captaincy. It shouldn’t be like this because in the long term, one should be given a chance to captain properly according to his process, his method. Because we want to experiment, win series as well, which can lead to issues. A captain has his own thought process, and right now, it’s unclear because discussions about changing the captain start after just one series. With the World Cup coming up, I think we need to identify players for the long run so that by the time we reach the World Cup, our issues are resolved.”
Shadab and Afridi were recently involved in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), with the former leading Islamabad United and the latter being in charge of the Lahore Qalandars.
Shadab led Islamabad to the title and played a key role in their successful campaign, taking 14 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 26.85 and an economy rate of 8.54.
He also scored 305 runs, which included three fifties, at an average of 30.50 and a strike-rate of 142.52.
Afridi, meanwhile, claimed 14 wickets in nine games at an average of 22.14 and an economy rate of 8.61.
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 9: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Rassie van der Dussen, Haris Rauf, David Wiese, Sahibzada Farhan, Sikandar Raza, Abdullah Shafique, Zaman Khan, Mirza Tahir Baig, Mohammad Imran, Ahsan Hafeez, Dan Lawrence, Jahandad Khan, Syed Faridoun, Shai Hope, Kamran Ghulam, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Tayyab Abbas
Islamabad United Squad for PSL 9: Shadab Khan (captain), Naseem Shah, Jordan Cox, Imad Wasim, Azam Khan, Tymal Mills, Faheem Ashraf, Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Rumman Raees, Matthew Forde, Salman Ali Agha, Qasim Akram, Shahab Khan, Hunain Shah, Ubaid Shah, Shamyl Hussain, Obed McCoy, Haider Ali, Muhammad Waseem
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