Shaheen Shah Afridi named as skipper of Pakistan ODI team
- By Shahid Hashmi -
- Oct 20, 2025
ISLAMABAD: A golden opportunity has been given to Shaheen Shah Afridi to prove his mettle as the Pakistan Cricket Board has appointed him skipper of Pakistan One Day Internatioanl (ODI) team, ARY News reported.
Shaheen Shah Afridi has been given the charge of the ODI team for a three-ODI match series against South Africa.
The series will be played from November 4 to 8 at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
The PCB took the decision to appoint the pacer for the ODI captain role in a meeting held in Islamabad.
Pakistan Head Coach Mike Hesson, Director High Performance Aqib Javed and members of the selection were attended the meeting.
With this appointment he will replace Muhammad Rizwan as the ODI captain of the team.
He represented the country in 66 ODIs and 92 T20Is, taking a total of 249 wickets in both.
On the other hand, the pacer has also performed in 32 Test matches, excluding the ongoing second Test against South Africa, he has bagged 120 wickets.
Two days ago, the PCB has put rumors aside regarding the change in ODI captaincy involving pacer Shahen Shah Afridi.
It is reported that pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi is potentially a top candidate to replace wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan as the national ODI captain.
In a statement, the cricket board confirmed that no final decision has been made regarding the ODI captaincy for the upcoming home series against South Africa.
A PCB spokesperson stated that head coach Mike Hesson has officially written to PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, recommending a joint meeting of the Selection Committee and Advisory Committee to finalise the captaincy issue.
According to the board, Chairman Naqvi has forwarded the request to both committees, which are set to convene on October 20, where the final call on who will lead Pakistan in the ODI format is expected to be made.
The clarification comes amid growing speculations that Shaheen Shah Afridi is being considered to replace Mohammad Rizwan as Pakistan’s ODI captain following a run of disappointing results in the format.
Pakistan’s struggles in 50-over cricket have been evident this year.
The team failed to progress beyond the first round of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, before enduring a 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand and a 2-1 series loss to the West Indies.