‘Rizwan himself decided,’ says Shaheen on ODI captaincy takeover

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi on Monday revealed that he consulted his predecessor Mohammad Rizwan before accepting the role.

Shaheen, who replaced Rizwan as the ODI captain ahead of their three-match home series against South Africa last month, was asked whether he took the wicketkeeper batter in confidence. The left-arm pacer, in response, shared that Rizwan was the only person to whom he sought advice before accepting the captaincy and also that the latter himself decided to take a step back.

“When I was becoming [the captain], Rizwan was the only individual with whom I discussed the possibility of representing Pakistan as the captain and what was his feeling [about that] and what does he want,” Shaheen shared at the pre-series press conference at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on the eve of their three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, starting on Tuesday. “So, Rizwan is a good human being, and Rizwan himself decided that he is taking a step back, and I am replacing him. So, I took this decision after consulting him,” he added. For the unversed, Rizwan led Pakistan in 20 ODIs, securing nine victories and suffering 11 defeats, with a winning percentage of 45. The 33-year-old was appointed as both ODI and T20I captain on October 27 last year, ahead of Pakistan’s white-ball tours of Australia and Zimbabwe. However, his tenure in the shortest format proved disappointing, as Pakistan lost all four T20Is under his leadership.

Following the defeats, Rizwan was removed as T20I captain, and all-rounder Salman Ali Agha was entrusted with leading the side in the shortest format ahead of the upcoming tour of New Zealand.

Staff Report