The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sacked Mohammad Rizwan and appointed Shaheen Afridi as the new ODI captain.
The pacer will be taking over the duties from the upcoming three-match ODI series in South Africa tour of Pakistan.
Rizwan who failed to create an impact as the Men in Green missed out knock out stages in Champions Trophy 2025 and also faced defeat in the three-match series against West Indies.
Under Rizwan’s captaincy, Pakistan secured ODI series win against Australia and South Africa. However, the chief selector Aqib Javed and head coach Mike Hesson has looked for other options.
“A meeting of the selection committee, also attended by Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson, decided that Shaheen will lead Pakistan’s ODI side against South Africa,” the official PCB release stated.
Shaheen Afridi last captained Pakistan in early 2024, leading the T20I side in a five match home series against New Zealand that ended level at 2-2.
Shaheen Afridi has been in captaincy duties in 2024, however, he has been sacked from the position following a tough series against New Zealand.
At just 25 year old, Shaheen has an impressive record in the 50-over format. Since making his debut in 2018, he has represented Pakistan in 66 ODIs, claiming 131 wickets at an average of 24.28. Over the years, he has cemented his place as Pakistan’s frontline pacer.
The PCB might have confirmed the captaincy change but the selectors are yet to name the squad for the series against the Proteas, hence it needs to be seen whether the right-hander remains a part of the squad or not.
Shaheen Afridi has played 66 ODIs for Pakistan, taking 131 wickets. On the other hand, Rizwan has played 94 ODIs, scoring 2713 runs at an average of 40.49. The ODI series is set to begin on November 04 at Iqbal Stadium.
