WATCH: Shahid Afridi vehemently denies any involvement in discussions for appointment of Shaheen Afridi as T20 captain

Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi has recently denied the speculations about his involvement in the appointment of Shaheen Afridi as a T20I captain for his side. Notably, there were early reports that the former Pakistan captain had forced the PCB and Management to appoint his son-in-law as the new Pakistan skipper after Babar Azam resigned following the ODI World Cup 2023 debacle.

The legendary cricketer reveals that he had never talked about appointing the left-arm pacer as the skipper for his national side. In addition, the former all-rounder reiterated that he doesn’t like to do such things to make him captain, nor does he like to do them.

“I swear, I never talked about making Shaheen the captain, nor did I ever lobby. Not involved in these things. Don’t have to, and I don’t like it either,” Shahid Afridi stated emphatically during a Samaa News program, Zor Ka Jor.

Moreover, the 46-year-old cricketer reveals that he does not want Babar Azam to resign from the captaincy. Shahid Afridi further said that he wanted Mohammad Rizwan to take the captaincy and always wanted to keep his son-in-law away from the captaincy due to mental pressure in the game, especially in tough situations.

I wanted to keep Shaheen Afridi away from the captaincy: Shahid Afridi

“Babar should not be removed from the captaincy. I wanted to keep Shaheen away from the captaincy. It has to happen; this is what happens to the captain in the end. I swear that I am neither interested in these things nor am I fond of them,” he added further.

Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi took to Twitter and expressed his happiness at being the Pakistan captain. “I am honoured and thrilled to lead our national T20 cricket team. Thank you to the Pakistan cricket board and fans for their trust and support. I’ll give my best to uphold the team spirit and bring glory to our nation on the cricket field. Our success lies in unity, trust and relentless effort. We are not just a team; we are a brotherhood, a family. Together, we rise! #PakistanZindabad,” Shaheen Afridi wrote on X.

Watch out the full video here:

“Making Shaheen a captain is entirely Hafeez’s and the PCB chairman’s decision. I have nothing to do with that. I was against it even when he took over Lahore’s captaincy. I told the Chairman not to remove Babar yet. Even if you do, make Rizwan a captain then”, @SAfridiOfficial pic.twitter.com/efL4TqdVlw

— Ihtisham Ul Haq (@iihtishamm) November 16, 2023