Moin Khan: “Shaheen Afridi has the ability to lead the team and is highly liked by the players. He is an excellent choice for captaincy in T20s. In white-ball cricket, I don’t see anyone else suitable for the role”
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Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Moin Khan believes left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi would have been “an excellent choice” when it came to the T20I captaincy.
Afridi was given the role when Babar Azam stepped down as captain across all three formats in November 2023, but only led the men in green in one series before Azam returned as limited overs skipper in March 2024.
With the 30-year-old having once again resigned as captain, Moin felt it was time for Afridi to get a prolonged run as T20I skipper.
However, that won’t happen as wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan was recently unveiled as Pakistan’s new white-ball skipper.
“Shaheen Afridi has the ability to lead the team and is highly liked by the players. He is an excellent choice for captaincy in T20s. In white-ball cricket, I don’t see anyone else suitable for the role,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
“Removing him from the captaincy was unjust. He is one of the best T20 players, and I’ve noticed his performance has slightly declined since he was removed from the captaincy. How can you expect good performance if you don’t give players confidence? They should be given some time as captain.”
Afridi was recently involved in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Bangladesh, but only played in the first Test, where he took two wickets at an average of 48.
He then captained the Lions in the Champions One-Day Cup, which was a domestic 50-over tournament held in Faisalabad, and claimed nine wickets in four games at an average of 29.33.
The 24-year-old then took part in Pakistan’s three-Test series against England, but only featured in the first Test in Multan, where he snapped up one wicket at an average of 120.
Despite not having Afridi in their playing XI for the second and third Tests, the men in green went on to beat England 2-1 and claim their first Test series victory at home since 2021.
Next up for Pakistan will be a white-ball tour of Australia, which will consist of three ODIs and three T20Is that will be held from November 4 to 18.
After this, they will travel to Zimbabwe for three ODIs and three T20Is from November 24 to December 5.
Pakistan Squad for Australia ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan Squad for Australia T20I Series: Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe T20I Series: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan