Shahid Afridi reacts to accusations of lobbying for Shaheen Afridi

Legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi surprised social media with his comments on his cricketer son-in-law Shaheen Afridi replacing Babar Azam as Pakistan’s T20I captain.

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It is pertinent to mention that Babar Azam stepped down as Pakistan’s captain from all formats following the side’s dismal performance in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Under the prolific batter’s leadership, the Green Shirts were eliminated from the group stage. They won four matches and lost five fixtures. 

Former cricketers, experts and fans had called him to resign as captain and work on his performances instead. 

Babar Azam announced resignation his following a meeting with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Zaka Ashraf.

Shortly, the governing body announced that Shan Masood would lead the Test team and Shaheen Afridi would be the frontman in the red-ball format. 

Shahid Afridi, who was accused by some social media users of lobbying for Shaheen’s captaincy, has finally reacted to the accusations and rumours. The former cricketer, on a private channel’s show, said he had opposed the cricket board’s decision to name new captains right after the positions fell vacant. 

He recalled telling the interim Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar that Babar Azam should be retained as Test captain when they discussed the batter’s leadership skills during a meeting. He added that he shared the same thoughts with Zaka Ashraf as well. 

Furthermore, Shahid Afridi claimed that wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan should have been Pakistan’s captain in the limited-overs formats.

The former cricketer held PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf and current Director of Pakistan Men’s Cricket Team Mohammad Hafeez were responsible for Shaheen Afridi’s appointment as T20I captain. 

Shahid Afridi said that he could say it under oath that he does not get involved in such matters. He said people would think he was lobbied for Shaheen Afridi’s captaincy as they are relatives.

Related – Babar Azam failed to become a leader: Shahid Afridi