Mercurial all-rounder Shahid Afridi’s reappointment as the national Twenty20 captain completes a full circle for the mercurial cricketer after he was removed from the twin post of ODI and T20 captaincy by former PCB chief Ijaz Butt three years ago.
An incensed Afridi had decided to stay away from the team after Butt sent him packing following a tiff with coach Waqar Younis in 2011. Interestingly Waqar is also in the middle of his second stint as the head coach of the national team and the word is that he backed Afridi’s appointment at the helm after the post was left vacant by Mohammad Hafeez’s resignation on the back of the failure in this year’s WorldTwenty20 in Bangladesh.
Afridi was handed the reins after the PCB failed to reach consensus on appointing a young captain for the shortest format of the game. Sohaib Maqsood, the upcoming batsman from Multan who has made rapid strides in both ODI and T20 formats, was in contention for the coveted post, but PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan opted to go with the highly experienced Afridi — easily the most recognised Pakistani cricketer currently.
The all-rounder is leading the Dolphins in the ongoing regional T20 tournament in Karachi — in an effort to sharpen his captaincy skills further, besides proving to his detractors, his commitment to the game. The test at the international level also arrives shortly with Pakistan squaring up against the mighty Australians in the one-off T20 next month.
Afridi has to build a strong team and strike a consensus with the team management and selection committee led by his former Pakistan captain Moin Khan. Conversely the decision to hand Afridi the captain’s armband for two years (up to the 2016 WorldT20) has perplexed some of the pundits of the game who feel that the combination of an advancing age and a waning bowling form — the Afridi experiment is one that the PCB might rue in the days ahead.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 24th, 2014.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
COMMENTS (4)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Good decision, not that PCB had another choice. Afridi should focus solely on T20s after 2015 WC. Also PCB must identify youngsters like Maqsood, Shahzad or Fawad to take on the reigns once Misbah and Afridi retire. No point oin handing over captaincy to a younger guy before properly grooming them.
@Proud to be Muslim: You must be kidding me. His commitment is for himself. He has never played for the team that's why he goes and tries to hit every ball for a six. Insane person and a insane captain. PCB has no clue what they are doing. You try to be a good muslim , cricket is not your cup of team since you don't understand it much.
Good to see Afridi back in the driving seat. Under his captaincy, Pakistan reached the semi-final of the world cup and world T20. No one can challenge his commitment and honestly that are the two main ingredients of a good leader. We wish all the best during his upcoming tenure.
Only in Pakistan the more things change the more they stay the same. We only look at the past and never anticipate the future. The irony rather stupidity of this appointment is soon after his elevation, Afridi is fined for not being fully fit! A player is rewarded and at the same time fined for not being physically fit! Catches win matches and these unfit lazy cricketers cannot be at par with the fully fit scientifically fit foreign players. No wonder except T20 our performance has been miserable. How can anybody justify the kind of money we pay to these fat cats?