Pakistan have been pushed into another transition phase after their disappointing performance in the 2023 World Cup. Babar Azam stepped down as captain in all formats and has now been replaced by batter Shan Masood in Tests and fast bowler Shaheen Afridi in T20Is. Afridi's era as captain of Pakistan is yet to begin with the team currently locked in a three-match Test series in Australia.
Pakistan's vice-captain in the 2023 World Cup was all-rounder Shadab Khan but it has been speculated that he was overlooked because of his poor form. Shadab has also been dropped from the Pakistan squad for their upcoming T20I series against New Zealand. Among the other senior figures in the T20 team is wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan.
Rizwan earned plaudits for his performances with the bat in the World Cup in India and former captain Shahid Afridi has expressed his admiration for him. Afridi also took a little dig at Shaheen, who is his son-in-law, on becoming Pakistan's T20I captain. “(I admire Rizwan’s) hardwork and focus level. His best quality, which I like most, is only focusing on his game and paying no heed to who doing what and what not. He is really a fighter!” said Afridi in an event for his Shahid Afridi Foundation. Rizwan and Shaheen were present at the event alongwith fast bowler Haris Rauf and senior wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed. “I wanted to see him (Rizwan) as the T20 captain, but Shaheen became the skipper by mistake," said Afridi, prompting laughter from the room.
{{/usCountry}}Rizwan earned plaudits for his performances with the bat in the World Cup in India and former captain Shahid Afridi has expressed his admiration for him. Afridi also took a little dig at Shaheen, who is his son-in-law, on becoming Pakistan's T20I captain. “(I admire Rizwan’s) hardwork and focus level. His best quality, which I like most, is only focusing on his game and paying no heed to who doing what and what not. He is really a fighter!” said Afridi in an event for his Shahid Afridi Foundation. Rizwan and Shaheen were present at the event alongwith fast bowler Haris Rauf and senior wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed. “I wanted to see him (Rizwan) as the T20 captain, but Shaheen became the skipper by mistake," said Afridi, prompting laughter from the room.
{{/usCountry}}Afridi's first assignment as Pakistan captain would be leading them in a five-match T20I series in New Zealand as they begin their final build-up to the T20 World Cup later this year. The series starts on January 12, with matches being played on January 14, 17, 19 and 21.