Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif made a sweeping remark about pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, saying the left-arm speedster doesn't even warrant a place in the T20I playing XI owing to his poor form. Ever since the 2022 T20 World Cup, the 25-year-old has looked a pale shadow of his old self, leaking runs for fun across formats. The left-arm pacer had a T20 World Cup 2026 to forget and was even dropped for the group stage match against Namibia after leaking more than 20 runs in the two overs he bowled against India.
Recently, under Shaheen's captaincy, Pakistan also lost the ODI series against Bangladesh, and the latest result saw several fans and pundits back home say the pacer is not the right fit for the ODI captaincy; rather, he should be handed the reins of the T20 team, replacing Salman Ali Agha.
However, Latif shut this notion down, saying Shaheen doesn't even deserve a place in the playing XI, hence the attempt to push a narrative should be stopped as the speedster first needs to earn his place in the lineup.
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“Now everyone is saying that Shaheen should not be the ODI captain. He shouldn't even be in the T20I team. People are now saying that he should become the captain of the T20I side after the World Cup debacle,” Latif said.
{{/usCountry}}“Now everyone is saying that Shaheen should not be the ODI captain. He shouldn't even be in the T20I team. People are now saying that he should become the captain of the T20I side after the World Cup debacle,” Latif said.
{{/usCountry}}“Yes, he should have been earlier, but now he doesn't deserve a place in the T20I team. People are running a campaign to have him be the captain of the T20I team instead of ODIs. He doesn't even deserve a place. Now, the time is over,” he added.
ODI series performance
In the series against Bangladesh, Shaheen scalped 4 wickets in 3 matches; however, he once again lacked penetration, failing to provide Pakistan with early wickets at the top. This was the same problem in the T20 World Cup, and he hasn't looked the same bowler ever since undergoing surgery.
With the bat, Shaheen tried his best to help Pakistan win the series decider in Dhaka, but his 37-run knock was of no use as the visitors fell 11 runs short in the third and final ODI.
Shaheen will next be seen leading the Lahore Qalandars in the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL), scheduled to begin on March 26.