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The possibility of
Shaheen Shah Afridi continuing his brief tenure as Pakistan’s T20 captain
appears slim, as PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi explicitly declined to reaffirm
Afridi’s position. During the selection committee’s launch, Naqvi stated that
the newly appointed selectors will choose the Pakistan captain.
“Even I don’t know who the captain will be,” Naqvi said.
“Whether Shaheen continues or a new captain comes in will be determined
after the fitness camp [starting on Monday]. There are a number of technical
factors we will consider, the details of which I do not want to go into. We
want a long-term solution, whether it’s Shaheen or a new man. And then we
intend to stick by that man, instead of just changing a captain just because
you lose a match or captain.”
Afridi led Pakistan
to a 4-1 defeat in their one series of five matches in New Zealand as captain,
despite having only been named captain of the T20I team in November. His
leadership skills as a captain were scrutinised right away, even though he had
just finished winning titles with his PSL team, Lahore Qalandars. But
Qalandars’ terrible PSL campaign—they won only one game out of ten in the
competition and ended bottom of the table—came after the outcome against New
Zealand.
It has led to
growing rumours about Afridi’s whereabouts, which will only get worse in light
of Naqvi’s remarks. The most renowned military academy in Pakistan, Kakul, will
host 27 players for ten days of training under the guidance of the Pakistani
military, as announced by the PCB. The fact that the PCB postponed making a
decision until after that camp ended gives the board more time to decide.
Pakistan may appoint
a third T20 captain in as many months because to the firm rejection of Afridi
as captain. After the PCB made it apparent in November that they wanted to pick
a replacement, Babar Azam reluctantly resigned as captain, which resulted in
Afridi’s appointment. Afridi was also the overwhelming choice to succeed him as
ODI captain at the time, although those chances have dimmed as a result of
later events.