Was never in favour of Babar Azam captaining Pakistan, but he proved me wrong: Shahid Afridi
Afridi also mentioned that he had earlier advised Shaheen to wait for a year or two before leading the Pakistani team or a franchise.
Babar Azam is still a new captain in international cricket. But, he became the first captain to beat India in a World Cup game. Thus, he has become the most important leader in Pakistan’s cricket history. Also, the team had a dominant run during the recently completed T20 World Cup as the team won each game during the league stage.
2021 was a great year for both Pakistan as well as Azam. Pakistan won 20 out of the 29 T20Is and became the first team to achieve this feat. Also, Azam made 1779 runs in T20 cricket in 2021. Pakistan finished in the third position in Men’s T20I Team Rankings with 265 rating points.
While speaking to Samaa TV, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi mentioned that he was not in favor of Azam being the captain of the Pakistani team. He added that being the captain of the Pakistani team brings a lot of pressure. Afridi thought that the pressure would have a negative effect on Azam’s batting.
“I feared that there would be a lot of pressure on Babar Azam. Pakistan team’s captaincy is not a joke. Being the captain, one needs to handle the media and players. The captain needs to speak to PCB and the selection committee as well. I was not confident that he (Azam) would be able to lead the squad. But, he has proved me wrong with his performance (as captain),” Afridi said.
Afridi had advised Shaheen to wait for a year or two before taking captaincy role
On December 20, Lahore Qalandars announced Shaheen Afridi as their new leader for the upcoming season of the Pakistan Super League. He would be replacing Sohail Akhtar, who was the captain of the team for the last two seasons. Shaheen is the leading wicket-taker of Qalandars.
Afridi also mentioned that he had earlier advised Shaheen to wait for a year or two before leading the Pakistani team or a franchise.
“I had advised Shaheen Afridi to wait for a year or two before accepting captaincy, so that he can focus more on his bowling but as he is also an Afridi, he didn’t listen to me.” Afridi said.
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