During a recent media interaction in Karachi, Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi stated that he never wanted to put focus on the captaincy of the national side, as his biggest aspiration had been winning many games for the national side with his all-round performances.
When Babar Azam, the current T20I captain of the Green Brigade stepped down from his leadership position, the team management and board decided to appoint Shaheen Afridi as their new captain of the shortest form.
The tall fast bowler became the T20I captain for Pakistan’s five-match T20I series in New Zealand, where they were blown away with a 4-1 margin defeat, after which the management went back to Babar for the role.
“I never think about captaincy”- Shaheen Afridi
The last few months haven’t been smooth for Shaheen Afridi, who didn’t perform well in the recent Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, where he managed to pick only five wickets in four innings at an average of 21 and an economy of 6.56, which is not up to his standards in this format.
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Besides that, he found himself in trouble after being alleged in an argument with the batting coach Mohammad Yousuf during the national team’s tour to Ireland and England in preparation for the T20 World Cup.
Reports also claimed that Shaheen Afridi had a heated conversation with their white-ball coach Gary Kirsten, in the ICC 20-over competition. However, the veteran pacer narrated that his upbringing isn’t such that he would fight with his team and other players.
“All team members are my friends. I was raised well and I always fight for my country.” The 24-year-old expressed this in a recent media interaction in Karachi.
When asked about his captaincy desire and whether he would look to get back the role, Afridi demonstrated that the leadership roles are beyond his control and not something that he thinks about.
“Pakistan is first and foremost for me, then it’s the team, and I come after that. I don’t like to think about the past. My job is to be in the present, and I don’t think about the future.” Shaheen Afridi observed in the press conference. “If your present is good, you can be well prepared for the future. Captaincy isn’t in my hands, and I have never played my cricket for captaincy. I want to play cricket for Pakistan and I will do that with dignity.”
After the news of his misconduct spread out, it was reported by the local media that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would take disciplinary action against Shaheen Afridi and as a result, he might not be considered for the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh in Augst at home.
However, the bowler noted that he had no idea of such rumors.
‘I don’t know if I’m being dropped from the Test series (against Bangladesh). My role is to play cricket, and I would do that with dignity.’ Shaheed added.
A few of the reports have also claimed that there was a dispute inside the team between Shaheen Afridi, the captain of the side- Babar Azam, and the wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan, after their poor performances in the T20 World Cup in the USA.
The pacer, along with the other two members, was denied NOC to be part of the various leagues around the globe as the board wants their players to be ready physically and mentally for the upcoming long home season.