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Cricket Players'No need to drive in 7th gear': Ex-PAK captain on Shaheen Afridi leading Pakistan; 'PSL not even close to int'l cricket'
The former Pakistan captain said that the demands and pressure of international cricket are ‘far higher’ than the PSL.
The 2022 Pakistan Super League ended last week with Lahore Qalandars lifting their maiden title, defeating Multan Sultans in the final. Qalandars defeated Sultans by 42 runs to lift the PSL trophy in front of 27, 000 Lahore spectators at the Gaddafi Stadium. At the age of 21, Shaheen Shah Afridi also became the youngest skipper to win a T20 league with the triumph in the PSL, surpassing the record held by Steve Smith who had won the Big Bash League with Sydney Sixers in 2012 at 22.
Following the victory, the Pakistan cricket fraternity lauded Afridi's captaincy skills and Qalandars' head coach Aaqib Javed, in an interview with YouTube channel paktv.tv, also suggested that Shaheen Afridi should be looked at as the captain of Pakistan in the shortest format of the game.
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, however, disagrees. The former left-handed batter also says that naming players for potential captaincy roles in future is not good for the team's health.
“He captained really well, no doubt. He showed his skills but there is no need to drive in seventh gear. Of course, Aaqib bhai was coach so he has his visions, but I don't think this should be talked about at the moment,” Butt said on his official YouTube channel.
“Almost all of them are in the same age group. If we go about like this, even Rizwan can be ready, Babar is ready.. there are 4-5 players who can lead the team but it isn't good for the team's health. Yes, you should have a leadership group, but to point out and say 'no, this guy should be captain or that guy should be captain', that's not good.”
The former Pakistan skipper further added that the current year is critical for the side as Australia is touring the country after 24 years, and the T20 World Cup also takes place in October-November. As such, such discussions can be a distraction for players.
“Worse is when players start to believe that they should be captain. When this happens, it hurts the team's health. This is PSL, it is not even close to international cricket. The demands and pressures of international cricket are far higher and there are smart minds operating at that level. So, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. We have a big series coming up, we have a World Cup this year, we don't need to go into that direction now,” said Butt.
