Overview:
Shaheen took 4 wickets in three ODIs against Bangladesh and lacked penetration, failing to provide breakthroughs when needed.
Former player Rashid Latif made a big statement on Pakistan’s ODI captain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, saying the pacer doesn’t deserve a place in the T20I playing XI after his ordinary performances. Afridi has been struggling to take wickets since the 2022 T20 World Cup and is leaking runs. The left-arm speedster was unable to get going for the Men in Green in the 2026 T20 World Cup and was even dropped from the playing XI for the match against Namibia after leaking over 20 runs from his two overs in the marquee clash against India in Sri Lanka.
Pakistan lost the ODI series against Bangladesh, and the fans and cricket experts feel he is not the right candidate to lead Pakistan in the fifty-over format, and the seamer should get the captain’s armband in the shortest format of the game.
However, Latif is not in favour of Afridi leading in T20Is, as according to him, he doesn’t deserve a place in the playing XI and the narrative to promote him in the slam-bang version should be stopped.
“Everyone is not against his captaincy in ODIs. He shouldn’t be playing T20Is for Pakistan. Some people want to see him leading the team in T20Is after the debacle in the World Cup,” Latif said.
“He should have been tried earlier, but now he doesn’t deserve a place in the T20I team. People are running a campaign for his elevation in the T20I team instead of the ODIs. His time is over, and he shouldn’t lead Pakistan in T20Is,” he added.
Shaheen took 4 wickets in three ODIs against Bangladesh and lacked penetration, failing to provide breakthroughs when needed. He encountered the same issue in the T20 World Cup and didn’t look threatening with the new ball and in the death overs.
Although he scored 37 runs in the series decider against Bangladesh, Pakistan fell short by 11 runs. Shaheen will now lead Lahore Qalandars in the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL), scheduled to start on March 26.