Ramiz Raja: “He is our match-winner and he should not be heartbroken before [the] T20 World Cup”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja said he doesn’t want left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi to be “heartbroken before [the] T20 World Cup” as he is a match-winner.
Ramiz’s comments come after Afridi was stripped of the T20I captaincy after only one series in charge.
The 24-year-old led the men in green in a five-match T20I series against New Zealand in January 2024, which they lost 4-1.
Shortly after, Babar Azam was announced as Pakistan’s limited overs captain, meaning he would be leading in ODIs and T20Is.
Ramiz acknowledged that this would have been a bitter pill for Afridi to swallow, but wants him to move on from it and focus on winning games for Pakistan.
“He is our match-winner and he should not be heartbroken before [the] T20 World Cup,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Afridi recently captained the Lahore Qalandars in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and claimed 14 wickets in nine matches at an average of 22.14 and an economy rate of 8.61.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will be held in Rawalpindi and Lahore from April 18 to 27.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand T20I Series: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Zaman Khan
Non-travelling reserves: Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha
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