Shahid Afridi: “There is a need of such a captain who is having a selfless approach to the game”
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Iconic Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has admitted that he would like to see big-hitting opener Saim Ayub become T20I captain.
Ayub caught fire after a slow start to international cricket as he racked up three ODI centuries and a career-best 98 not out in T20Is during Pakistan’s tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa in 2024.
Even though a fractured ankle halted the 23-year-old’s momentum, Afridi still feels he has what it takes to lead the men in green in the future.
“There is a need of such a captain who is having a selfless approach to the game,” he said on Samaa TV programme, Zor Ka Jor.
Ayub’s ankle injury forced him to miss the 2025 Champions Trophy and Pakistan’s white-ball tour of New Zealand.
However, he made his return in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he amassed 174 runs in 10 matches for the Peshawar Zalmi, which included a top score of 50, at an average of 17.40 and a strike-rate of 125.17.
Ayub is now set to make his international comeback when Pakistan face Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series, which will be played in Lahore from May 28 to June 1.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 10:
- Platinum: Babar Azam (captain), Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore
- Diamond: Corbin Bosch, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris
- Gold: Abdul Samad, Hussain Talat, Nahid Rana
- Silver: Arif Yaqoob, Najibullah Zadran, Max Bryant, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufiyan Muqeem
- Emerging: Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat
- Supplementary: Ahmed Daniyal, Alzarri Joseph
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub
[TS_Poll id=”164″]
Afridi Saab kindly shafqat krein team pe ,Saim ko khailnay dain oska dimag khrab na krein jis trh aap ne Shaheen ka kia hae.