Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan‘s main pace bowler, has made it known that he is not considering taking on the responsibility of captaining the team at a global cricket. He further asserted that the captaincy is not something within his power to control.
According to Shaheen, the primary objective is to win games for Pakistan. “I never played cricket with an intention of becoming captain,” he said while addressing the media in Karachi. This left-arm pacer also added: “I have not been a person who played with a view of taking over captaincy.”
Here is what the left-arm seamer stated during a media session in Karachi:
“Pakistan is first and foremost for me, then it’s the team, and I come after that. I don’t like to think about the past. My job is to be in the present and I don’t think about the future.”
”If your present is good, you can be well-prepared for the future. Captaincy is not in my hands and I have never played my cricket for captaincy. I want to play cricket for Pakistan and I will do that with dignity.”
I never think about captaincy. My prime focus is to represent my country and would never bring negativity into the team – Shaheen Afridi#Cricket | #Pakistan | #ShaheenAfridi | #Karachi pic.twitter.com/XVIECkUou7
— Khel Shel (@khelshel) July 29, 2024
A major point of contention is that, after Babar Azam resigned from all designs following his team’s group stage defeat in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Shaheen Afridi was named as Pakistan’s T20I captain.
Earlier this year, he led Pakistan in an away series comprising five matches against New Zealand but the Blackcaps won it 4-1. In the span of just one series, Shaheen had to prove himself since Babar was brought back as the captain of Pakistan’s white-ball teams in anticipation of the T20 World Cup scheduled for 2024.
“I don’t know if I’m being dropped” –Shaheen Afridi’s comments on Pakistan’s Test series against Bangladesh
As reported by Geo News, there have been incidents where Shaheen Afridi got into a fierce argument with batting coach Mohammad Yousuf while Pakistan toured England and Ireland earlier this year.
The rapid bowler was also said to have been watched for his non-compliance for the duration of the 2024 T20 World Cup where it was suggested that he refused to attend team meetings. According to reports from Pakistan’s media, Shaheen may be subjected to discipline and could miss out on representation during Pakistan’s next Test series against Bangladesh.
In the series, Shaheen said that he doesn’t know whether he will be dropped or not. Cricket Pakistan quoted him as saying:
“I don’t know if I’m being dropped from the Test series [against Bangladesh]. My role is to play cricket, and I would do that with dignity.”
Pakistan is hosting Bangladesh for a two-match Test series which starts at Rawalpindi from August 21st.
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