Shahid Afridi, Zaka Ashraf and Mohammad Rizwan.
Shahid Afridi, Zaka Ashraf and Mohammad Rizwan. Image Credit: X

The former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee, Zaka Ashraf, has denied the claims of the former spin all-rounder of the side, Shahid Afridi, who had a claim to advising Ashraf regarding the appointment of Mohammad Rizwan as the new captain of the side in the white-ball format.

Pakistan had a horrible time during the 2023 ODI World Cup in India as they faced some hard defeats against Afghanistan in Chennai under the captaincy of Babar Azam, before repeating the same poor performances during the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA) where they were knocked out from the group stage of the competition.

Shahid Afridi repeatedly mentioned in a meeting with Zaka Ashraf that after their performance, he was the one who advised the wicket-keeper batter to be the future leader of the side.

Zaka Ashraf reveals the reason for removing Shaheen Shah Afridi as T20I captain

Despite the words of Shahid Afridi, the former chairman of the PCB has denied the claim as he met the reporters in Lahore, “Shahid Afridi had not given me any advice to make Rizwan the captain.”

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Babar Azam, along with his captaincy, has been going through an inferior time with the bat in hand in the last couple of years. In last month’s two-match red-ball series against Bangladesh at home, the former Test captain of the side couldn’t score runs, which has now put more pressure on his position.

Amidst the talk of appointing Mohammad Rizwan as the leader of the side, Zaka Ashraf termed the decision of removing Shaheen Shah Afridi as the T20 captain as taken hesitantly and revealed why they decided to remove Babar as the skipper in the future during his tenure.

“I offered to retain Babar Azam as the captain for red-ball cricket, but we wanted to appoint a new captain for white-ball cricket. He responded by stating that if he were to be replaced as captain in one format, he would rather step down from captaincy in all formats.” He expressed to the reporters.

“Consequently, I suggested that he should focus on playing as a team member for Pakistan, as it was clear that he was finding it challenging to cope with the pressure of captaincy.” Zaka Ashraf added while wishing the best to the current superstar of Pakistan cricket on his reappointment.

The left-arm pacer was given the job of managing the leadership of the team during their five-match T20I series at the start of 2023 in New Zealand, where they lost those games with a 4-1 margin. Later, when the Kiwis returned to Pakistan, the pacer was removed from the position, and the leadership was given back to Babar Azam, who ended the series with a 2-2 margin.

“While Shaheen Afridi has undeniably proven himself as a star fast bowler, leading Pakistan’s pace attack over the years, the board recognizes the importance of rotation and rest to maintain his peak performance.” The Pakistan Cricket Board added in a statement during that period.

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“This decision aligns with the board’s commitment to safeguarding the longevity of the players, especially fast bowlers given their injury timelines in the past two years.” The statement painted.

Zaka Ashraf resigned from the position of the chairman of the PCB towards the start of the year, when Mohsin Naqvi replaced him in the role. Now, it’s up to the latter to decide if he wants to go with Rizwan as the new captain in the white-ball side of Pakistan.