Zaka Ashraf: “I made Shaheen Shah the captain of the T20I team. That was also a very good decision”
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Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf insisted that it was a “very good decision” to appoint pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi as T20I captain.
Afridi succeeded Babar Azam in November 2023, but only led the team in one series, which consisted of five T20Is against New Zealand in January 2024.
The men in green lost that series 4-1 and by the end of March, Azam had replaced Afridi as skipper as he was reappointed to lead Pakistan in ODIs and T20Is.
Even though Afridi’s tenure lasted just a few months, Ashraf reiterated that he believes he made the right choice.
“I made Shaheen Shah the captain of the T20I team. That was also a very good decision,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Afridi recently featured in Pakistan’s T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan, where he claimed four wickets in four matches at an average of 19.50 and an economy rate of 5.57.
He remained in red-hot form throughout the 2025 Asia Cup as he was Pakistan’s top wicket-taker with 10 wickets in seven games at an average of 16.40 and an economy rate of 6.60.
The men in green will be back in action soon as they will host South Africa for two Tests, three T20Is, and three ODIs, which will take place from October 12 to November 8.
Pakistan squad for South Africa Test series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi