Istafa Ali
In a big change of events, left-arm Pacer Shaheen Afridi is set to become the new vice-captain of the Pakistan cricket team. He has been the front-runner for the important job so far.
After the Green Shirts played poorly against India and Sri Lanka in the just-ended Asia Cup 2023, the leader, Babar Azam, has been criticised for how he led the team during the event.
During the tournament, Azam was criticised for both his leadership as captain and his choice to keep playing vice-captain Shadab Khan even though he was not in good form. This made people question his ability to make decisions.
Vice-captain Shadab Khan is having a bad time both with his bowling and with his hitting.
During the Asia Cup 2023, he took six wickets, which means he averaged 40.83 over five games. Captain Babar Azam has been criticised for putting Shadab Khan on the team over and over again.
In light of this, Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has 255 international wickets and won the prized Pakistan Super League (PSL) title in 2022 and 2023, is set to replace Shadab Khan as the team’s vice-captain.
Shaheen Afridi leadership skills were on show in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he led the Lahore Qalandars club to back-to-back wins in 2022 and 2023.
The left-handed fast bowler has played for Pakistan in 27 tests, 44 one-day internationals (ODI), and 52 Twenty20 Internationals (T20I). He has taken 255 wickets in international play.
Zaka Ashraf, who is in charge of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee, is thinking about what to do about the team’s leadership.
The PCB management committee head has the final say on any changes to the team’s leadership. However, Babar Azam is not expected to be replaced as the team’s captain before the big event. Shadab Khan might be replaced by Shaheen Afridi as Azam’s second-in-command, though.
Earlier, it was said that the team management, including top pick Inzamam-ul-Haq and captain Babar Azam, is now thinking about making changes to the 15-member group for the big event.
Sources say that Mohammad Haris, Usama Mir, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, and Faheem Asraf don’t have a good chance of making the World Cup team based on how the team has been doing lately.
Hassan Ali and Abrar Ahmed, who spins with his right arm and leg break, are expected to be part of the 15-person team.
Pakistan’s Potential Squad for World Cup 2023
Pakistan’s 15-person World Cup team could include Babar Azam (captain), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Abdulla Shafiq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hassan Ali, and Zaman Khan.
