Maverick cricket star Shahid Afridi expressed disappointment over the change in Pakistan’s captaincy following the team’s poor performance at the World Cup.
Babar Azam, who failed to lead Pakistan to the semifinals in India, announced his decision to resign as captain from all formats of the game on November 15.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) promptly replaced Babar with Shan Masood as Test captain and Shaheen Shah Afridi as the skipper in T20 cricket.
While the cricket board has yet to name a new captain for the ODIs, former players in Pakistan were not happy with the way PCB handled the captaincy issue.
Former Pakistan captain Afridi feels Babar should not have been removed from captaincy.
“Babar Azam should have continued as the captain for the red ball cricket (Test matches). He should not have been removed from the captaincy,” Afridi said during the Superfix Championship opening ceremony in Sharjah.
But Afridi also revealed that he didn’t want Shaheen, who is also his son-in-law, to take up the Pakistan captaincy.
“I told Shaheen not to take the national team’s captaincy when he asked me for advice. While it is a moment of pride for him, captaincy is not easy at all. At the end of the day, everything that happens is the responsibility of the captain,” said Afridi.
Superfix Championship
Meanwhile, the second season of the Superfix Championship Season, a tape ball cricket tournament, will get underway with Afridi as its ambassador.
Afridi hailed the Superfix Championship and its founder, Naveed Ahmed, who is also the CEO of the Superfix Group.
“Naveed has taken an amazing initiative. Players get a lot of support from such steps,” said Afridi who also played tape ball cricket during his early days as a cricketer in Pakistan.
Players from the UAE, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are expected to play in the second season of the championship.
Eight teams — FMtk, MWI XI, SEVEN Districts, Adam King Bhutta, Friends India, Al Basira Tigers, and Kabul Zalmi — from eight countries will be taking part in the second season of the tournament.
FMtk won the 2022 edition of the championship.
Naveed also unveiled the new kits of the participating teams.
The matches will be played at Sharjah Cricket Stadium from December 1 to 3. Entry is free for spectators.