Mohammad Hafeez: “Even [though] I spoke to the captain (Shaheen), [the] captain was reluctant to talk to Babar and Rizwan and I took that responsibility. I went to talk to them. And I had no problem with it because what I did was for Pakistan”
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Former Pakistan team director and interim head coach Mohammad Hafeez has revealed that ex-T20I captain Shaheen Shah Afridi was hesitant to talk to Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan about splitting up their opening partnership.
Azam and Rizwan had opened the batting in T20Is for a few years in the lead-up to the T20I series against New Zealand in January 2024, but Hafeez wanted to insert aggressive opener Saim Ayub at the top of the order.
However, Afridi was “reluctant” to speak to the star duo, which ultimately led to Hafeez taking charge and breaking the news to them.
“Even [though] I spoke to the captain (Shaheen), [the] captain was reluctant to talk to Babar and Rizwan and I took that responsibility. I went to talk to them. And I had no problem with it because what I did was for Pakistan,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
Afridi was stripped of the captaincy after that T20I series against New Zealand and Azam was subsequently named limited overs skipper.
The 29-year-old recently led Pakistan in another five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which was held in April 2024 and finished as a 2-2 draw.
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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