As Pakistan preps themselves for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 taking place in the West Indies and the United States of America, it is being suggested that there is unrest between their star pacer Shaheen Afridi and the Pakistan Cricket Board regarding the captaincy saga which saw Babar Azam reprise his role as the skipper of the national side.
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According to a report by ESPNCricinfo, it reveals that Shaheen was offered the role of vice-captain ahead of their squad announcement for the T20 showpiece event. But the pacer rejected the role as Pakistan does not have a designated deputy to Babar Azam as per their squad announcement.
Despite being removed from his role as the skipper after only one series, Shaheen wanted to put the saga behind him but the player supposedly feels that the matter was not dealt with properly and feels that the reasons for his removal as skipper did not have adequate reasons.
The unrest between Shaheen and the PCB was further highlighted by the chairman Mohsin Naqvi’s presser in March where he had suggested that Shaheen could have been replaced. But once the captaincy change was announced, the press release revealed words of encouragement from the pacer to Babar Azam.
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The report reveals that Shaheen never said those words indicating the tensions between the two which will not be ideal in the long run. The fast bowler remains among the core leadership group on the T20 side but feels that he does not need to take up an official role to establish his command.
To take up the role as the deputy to Babar Azam, Shaheen was indeed their primary choice, but with his rejection, they then looked towards Shadab Khan with his struggle with the ball coupled with his non-utilisation in the top-6 means that he is not a sure-shot selection in the starting 11. Mohammad Rizwan was a contender but was rejected considering that they wanted a younger player to take up the role.
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